The scene unfolded last week in New York, United States. Whilst walking past a warehouse, a local resident noticed a makeshift sign fixed to the entrance: "Free cats". As he approached, he realised that two kittens were about to be given away to anyone, without the slightest follow-up. Alarmed, he decided to intervene.
After a few minutes of discussion with the owner, the passer-by contacted Greenpoint Cats, an association specialising in caring for the city's stray cats. Their Instagram post quickly revealed the scale of the problem. The warehouse owners had started with two cats and now found themselves with four felines, including two young ones of breeding age.
A family of cats saved in the nick of time
Moved by the situation, the visitor explained the importance of having the entire little family neutered before giving the kittens away. Faced with these arguments, the owners finally decided to hand all their cats over to the association. Volunteers from Greenpoint Cats immediately took the animals to a veterinary clinic to have them examined and neutered. An intervention that undoubtedly saved their lives.
A week later, the good news arrived. One of the four rescues, Crêpe Suzette, an adorable one-year-old tortoiseshell cat, had already found a home. Her daughter, Soufflé, as affectionate as she is playful, is described by her foster family as "closer to a puppy than a cat". As for little Flapjack, the only black cat in the litter, he's slowly beginning to open up to humans and is gaining a bit more confidence each day.
A silent crisis in New York warehouses
For the volunteers at Greenpoint Cats, this story is sadly not an isolated case. New York warehouses are teeming with unneutered cats, left to their own devices and victims of endless breeding cycles. "We have already taken in over 40 unwanted cats and kittens from warehouses this year," the association writes. An alarming figure that highlights the need for action: neutering campaigns, raising awareness amongst businesses, and involvement from local authorities.
Thanks to the vigilance of a simple passer-by, Crêpe Suzette, Soufflé and Flapjack now have a chance to live the peaceful life they deserve. And for Greenpoint Cats, the fight continues.
