A tiny tuxie kitten who was clinging by his claws to his 9th and final life was rescued from a frigid Long Island storm drain this week.
A passerby heard his faint mews and investigated, locating him beneath a drainage grate in a parking lot. She called the Humane Society, and was lucky enough to talk to a volunteer who happened to be the wife of Oceanside Fire Chief Tim Biscay. The Biscays raced to the scene as the chief called his ladder company for assistance.
“We have a lot of tools, and deep down, most of the guys here are real animal lovers,” said Biscay, who has performed several cat rescues.
The firefighters tried to coax the shivering tuxie from its perch inside a pipe but he was too frightened to move. Then they “spooked” it with a fire extinguisher and the kitten leaped into the arms of firefighter Matt Martin.
“The poor little thing was pale and shaking — he was probably hypothermic,” said Biscay.
The kitten was taken to the Hilton Animal Hospital. “He was definitely hypothermic,” said Dr. Jeffrey Strom. “But he’s eaten and is in a warming cage, and he seems to be brightening up.” The kitten, nicknamed “Storm” spent the night in the warming cage. The next morning he was admitted to the Long Beach Humane Society for adoption.
He didn’t have to wait long. Two hours later, he was adopted by the mother-in-law of the original good Samaritan who alerted authorities to his predicament. How’s that for a happy ending?
One lucky orange tabby expended a few of his nine lives this week when he was trapped inside an SUVs engine compartment while the SUV traveled across town.
The driver, Wilfred Rodriguez, heard a strage rattling sound when he was driving in the Bronx. When he stopped, he got out to investigate, only to see a floofy tail and paw poking out from beneath the hood.
His first reaction was, “Oh my God! I killed a cat.” He was relieved when the paw moved.
The NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit responded and freed the oil-covered cat by removing the SUV’s battery and a few other vehicle parts.
Richard Gentles of New York City Animal Care & Control reported that the stray cat appeared to be in good physical shape However, the cat was suffering from fleas and severe fur-matting.
David Ziegler of the Center for Animal Care and Control told the New York Daily News, “He seems pretty calm, like he’s not in any pain,” Mr Ziegler said. “But he’s mean. He has been growling.”
Animal Care and Control said it would hold onto the cat for three days, although hope seemed dim that an owner would come forward to claim him.
We wrote about Rescue Ink earlier this year, and since then they’ve scored not only a book deal, but a National Geographic series as well.
National Geographic just premiered their TV show, Rescue Ink Unleashed, on Friday, Think Animal Cops with a twist: it’s a group of bikers with more than 1700 pounds of muscle, over 80 tattoos, and one unlikely mission: to rescue helpless, abandoned and abused animals. These tough guys are not afraid to go anywhere or confront anyone to save animals in danger.
Each one-hour episode of Rescue Ink Unleashed takes viewers on “ride-alongs” as members follow up on leads in the New York metro area.Taking an average of 100 calls a week at their headquarters on Long Island, they jump into their cars — or on their “hogs” — and confront alleged animal abusers, investigate stolen animals and firmly encourage owners to give up their pets if it’s in the best interest of the animals.
Our favorite is “Des,” known as “The Cat Man.” Des is a friend to all felines. Although he grew up in the tough neighborhoods of Jamaica, Queens, where survival included hanging with a gang, Des’ cat friends have given him a new purpose in life. Des gets called in anytime there’s a cat-astrophe.
The series is on the National Geographic channel on Fridays at 10pm.
There’s a little slice of kitten heaven in Tammy Cross’ 450-sq-ft Beaux-Arts apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Tammy is the force behind Kitten Little Rescue, an organization that rescues sick, abused or abandoned kittens and showcases them on summer weekends at 72nd Street and Columbus Avenue, in the hope of finding adoptive or foster families for the wee ones.
Tammy often fields calls from the Center for Animal Care and Control, the city’s shelter, seeking to place strays that might otherwise face certain death. In her tiny apartment, 6 to 18 baby kittens — and once as many as 22 — are bottle fed and nursed back to health. An army of volunteers, along with contributions from the public, help sustain her rescue work.
Tammy has been living a life defined by cats ever since she came to New York about 30 years ago. Her cheery apartment hardly looks like a crazy cat lady’s habitat, but cats are indeed in residence. There’s a pile of cat toys beneath the sofas, whose white slipcovers are washable in case of accidents. Grey industrial carpet wraps a door frame, providing an ideal scratching post without sacrificing floor space. The bathroom functions as a nursery for kittens who are ill or very young or cannot eat on their own. Tammy pads around her apartment barefoot to avoid injuring the kittens who are constantly scampering everywhere.
Tammy has been rescuing, bottle feeding and tending to sick and injured kittens for over 18 years. A recognized expert in this field, she has taught classes on critical kitten care and bottle feeding at the ASPCA. In 2005, she received the Companion Animal Guardian Award and was recognized for her humanitarian help to animals by the animal welfare group ‘In Defense of Animals’. She has rescued and adopted out over 2000 kittens and cats.
Barbra Streisand is sponsoring a pet photo contest named after her beloved dog, Sammie (pictured above). To promote her new album “Love is the Answer,” she’ll be playing a once-in-a-lifetime show at the Village Vanguard in New York City on Saturday, September 26 to an intimate group of 100 fans. The winner of Sammie’s Cutest Pet Photo Contest will win tix to the show.
Here’s what you need to do. Submit a cute, original photo of your pet. The top 20 votes with the most votes move to the finals, from which one grand prize winner will chosen to receive two tickets to the performance, plus hotel and airfare.
As part of my continuing series on artists for whom cats figure prominently as subjects of their work, today I’m interviewing Alison Kurek of Buffalo, New York.
Alison’s early artistic career focused on photographic imagery, often social commentary pieces. Over the years, her style mellowed, becoming more playful. Her work is aimed at people who just need some smile therapy.
Although she still creates photographs, her repertoire has expanded to include polymer clay, ceramics and acrylic paintings. She often mixes it up in her current work, so probably best fits into the “mixed media artist” category.
Alison is a Buffalo native and a graduate of the State University College at Buffalo. Her work has been sold through galleries, shops and art festivals for over 15 years and is held in numerous collections throughout the United States.
Karen: First off, Alison, please tell me about your cats.
Alison: I have 2 cats. Mylo: a 2-year-old gray tuxedo and Livee : a 1-year-old tortie. Mylo has kicked off my tuxedo cat craze. They’re self-supporting (it’s hard work being a model), they have a lot of energy and they make me laugh quite often so how can they not inspire me?
Karen: Have you always been a cat person?
Alison: No. I grew up with dogs and didn’t have a cat move in with me until I was in my 20s. They grew on me rapidly though and for a number of years I had four. Chester, one of my original cats, was truly the inspiration for my first pieces of cat art.
Karen: How long have you been working in polymer clay?
Alison: Over ten years. Maybe as long as 13 years but I can really put an official start date on it.
Karen: Are your own cats the models for your work, or is your work the product of a vivid imagination?
Alison: Well — Mylo and Live would like to claim that they are responsible for all of my current work — but I let my imagination run wild a bit.
Karen: You imbue your mini sculptures with so much personality! Do you plan a certain “mood” before you begin each sculpture, or does it take on a life of its own as you work with it?
Alison: Both depending on the day/specific piece of work. My 3D “Fat Cats” pretty much all start out the same way and find their personality along the way; but my mixed media pieces start out with a painting first — so the cat’s attitude, position, coloring, etc. has to work with the painting. When I work on custom orders the wishes/requests of the customer play heavily into what the final outcome will be.
Karen: Your “Cat Out of the Bag” photo (right) is heartwarming. How did you capture that perfect shot at just the right moment?
Alison: Ah, that’s my Chester. He was a fabulous, FAT tiger with a mountain of personality. That photo was all about being in the right place at the right time — Chester had a bit of an attitude and was NOT one to take direction well. He was the inspiration for my Fat Cat on Edge series.
Karen: Which breed of cat do you most enjoy portraying?
Alison: I can’t say that I’d really choose one over the other — other than to say that most of my creations are of domestic short hairs. Polymer clay doesn’t lend itself well to making furry, long-haired cats (or at least I haven’t figured out how) — and my own cats have all been domestic short hairs. I had a fabulous calico named Jane for many years — so you’ll still find a lot of calicos in my work, along with tigers and tuxedos. I’ve been trying to getting the speckled, brindle coloring of my tortie Livee but am struggling a bit with that.
Karen: Do you ever do custom sculptures? Alison: Yes — quite often. I work from pictures or from descriptions and match hair and eye color while working names into titles.
Karen: Which of your current works is your favorite?
Alison: I’ve been having a blast with ACEOs! They’re quick and fun and offer flexibility that larger pieces of art work don’t allow.
Karen’s note: “ACEO” is an acronym for Art Cards Editions and Originals. ACEOs always measure 2-1/2 inches by 3-1/2 inches, the size of a standard sports trading card. Other than size, there are no other restrictions or limitations, and they can be created in any medium, including but not limited to paper, canvas, wood, clay, fabric and metal.
Karen: Aside from Etsy, do you sell in other online venues or exhibit in galleries?
Alison: I sell ACEOs (mostly cats) on eBay under user name: aekurek. I have a Facebook site, and a blog at alisonekurek.com.
Karen: Thanks for the interview, Alison. I really enjoyed learning about the cats behind the art!
Check out Alison’s online store. You’ll find that her work is affordable, with most pieces going for less than $20–a great gift idea for the crazy cat lady in your life… or you!
In NYC’s East Village, cat lovers are mourning the passing of Pretty Boy, a 22-year-old cat who ruled the stretch of East 7th Street between First Avenue and Avenue A. Here’s the story:
By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY
The steady rain has delayed countless city rituals: barbecues, baseball games, rooftop cocktail parties. Add to the list a funeral, rescheduled twice this week as mourners awaited an outlet for their collective grief.
The deceased: Pretty Boy, the Mayor of East Seventh Street, a dignified white cat who had a confident swagger — and a distaste for rainy weather. Thus the long-delayed memorial service to sprinkle his cremated remains along the path he once strutted.
Pretty Boy, believed to have been about 22 years old, was a local fixture for over a decade, making his rounds on the south side of the block between First Avenue and Avenue A, as shops opened and closed and renters moved in and out. His death last month, of natural causes, unleashed a storm of emotion.
A business owner broke into tears at his mention. One young resident wept through a rehearsal for her kindergarten graduation. And Herbie, a disheveled supermodel of a cat who used to live with Pretty Boy at Mikey’s Pet Shop, has retreated behind bags of cat litter to grieve privately.
“Every day I cry,” said Betty Knapp, who used to work at Mikey’s Pet Shop. Pretty Boy used to rest on her chest when her blood pressure rose, she said, and it helped to calm her down. Now, she bursts into sobs when she talks about him. “He knew he was the man. He was the man on East Seventh Street. Everybody just loved him.”
While accounts differ on exactly when Pretty Boy appeared on the block, Mikey Diaz, owner of the pet store, said he had strutted in and leapt onto the counter shortly after the store opened in this spot in 1998. Pretty Boy started sleeping in the shop at night and was later joined by Herbie. During the day, Pretty Boy ventured a few doors down to a hair salon called Chatsii, where he perched on the reception counter and leapt onto the laps of customers. Some days, Mr. Diaz said, he swaggered through a Swiss restaurant on the block.
But the turnover of shops on the block meant changes for Pretty Boy. Monique Simard, the previous owner of Chatsii, said that after she retired in 2004 Pretty Boy was no longer welcome in the space: The new owners were allergic to cats. And the Swiss restaurant closed.
So in 2004, Pretty Boy showed up at Salon Seven, a little farther down the block, and began a friendship with the owner, Mark Dolengowski.
It made for a good life: After waking to breakfast and a face-washing from Mr. Diaz at the pet shop, Pretty Boy headed over to spend the day with Mr. Dolengowski, sniffing hubcaps on the way over and meowing for water upon his arrival.
He spent his day purring, sprawled on the appointment calendar at the reception desk and in the laps of clients having their hair washed. The cat’s love of hair salons made Mr. Dolengowski suspect that he was a reincarnated hairdresser.
When he returned to the pet shop at day’s end, Pretty Boy was less subdued, chasing Herbie around the store, Mr. Diaz recalled, and breaking into the catnip. When rats appeared, however, Pretty Boy typically stayed on the counter and let Herbie handle them.
At the tail end of his life, Pretty Boy was balancing a fairly demanding schedule. He spent Saturdays traveling back and forth, greeting clients at the hair salon and purring for fans and families who stopped by to visit him after services at a synagogue in the neighborhood. Sundays brought children from a Ukrainian church.
Daliyah Abdel-Rehim, who lives on the block, is struggling to accept that Pretty Boy, whom she calls her “best friend,” won’t attend her upcoming sixth birthday party. Her mother, Iryna Malytska, said that Daliyah cried through her kindergarten graduation rehearsal on Wednesday.
“She really loved him,” Ms. Malytska said. “He was a part of Seventh Street.”
Standing before the Pretty Boy memorial he made with photographs and a vase of pink peonies, Mr. Dolengowski, too, conceded that the cat’s death had broken his heart.
“You get so hard living here,” he said in a gravelly, mournful voice. “But pets open up that heart center. There is something about the unconditional love; they clean the blues off of you.
“That’s their mission. That’s why a lot of New Yorkers have pets.”
WARNING: The following post discusses an act of animal cruelty in a recent Bronx cat killing and the action you can take to urge that justice be served.
Recently, in the Bronx, 17-year-old Cheyenne Cherry (pictured above) was arrested for torturing and killing a kitten (below, right) in what she described as an act of revenge against an ex-roommate. It was a particularly heinous act for which the accused has shown no remorse. According to published reports, Cherry confessed to the crime and allegedly told investigators “I hate cats.” Cherry dismissed the murder as a “practical joke.” Click here for details of the case.
Incredibly, despite a criminal record, Cherry was released without bail.
Cherry has a history of violence that appears to be escalating. In June 2008 she was arrested for larceny and extortion in an armed dognapping. She and her boyfriend held up a woman walking her dog at gunpoint, stole the dog, then sent friends to claim the $500 reward. The victim, Johan Castro, said, “They wonder why this little girl doesn’t learn right from wrong. “If she’s willing to kill a cat and steal my dog, what else will she do? She thinks she can beat the system.”
Last year Cherry was also arrested for robbing a man of his iPod at gunpoint. “It was just a joke,” Cherry claimed, after her arrest. She pleaded guilty to robbery and got five years probation. In 2007 she was arrested for assault.
Sounds like an unrepentant sociopath to me.
Please send letters to the following authorities, urging that Cherry be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and that she is sentenced to mandatory psychological counseling and maximum jail time if she is convicted.
Robert T. Johnson, Bronx District Attorney
The Office of the Bronx County District Attorney
198 East 161st Street; Bronx, NY 10451
ph: 718-590-2000, 718-590-2312; fax: 718-590-2198
email: angueirl@bronxda.nyc.gov
Steven Reed, Director of Public Information
The Office of the Bronx County District Attorney
198 East 161st Street; Bronx, NY 10451
ph: 718-590-2235, 718-590-2234
Joe McCormack, Assistant District Attorney
Bronx County District Attorney’s Office
198 East 161st Street; Bronx, New York 10451
ph: 718-590-2000, 718-590-2026; fax: 718-781-1129
email: mccormaj@bronxda.nyc.gov
Nancy Borko, Senior Assistant District Attorney
Bronx District Attorney’s Office
215 East 161st Street; Bronx, NY 10451-3511
ph: 718-838-7114
Maria T. Rivero, Administrative Assistant District Attorney riverom@bronxda.nyc.gov
Anthony Girese, Counsel to the District Attorney
Bronx County District Attorney’s Office
198 East 161st Street; Bronx, New York 10451
ph: 718-590-2175; fax: 718-992-0545
email: giresea@bronxda.nyc.gov
Judge Dennis J. Boyle
G Correspondence Clerk
Bronx Supreme Court Criminal Division
851 Grand Concourse, Room 123
Bronx, NY 10451
The animal welfare organization Kinship Circle has provided the following sample letter. We strongly encourage modifying this letter to include your own thoughts and feelings, as opposed to simply copying and pasting, as it loses some impact when a prosecutor receives hundreds of identical letters. Also, where feasible, send a hard copy of the letter vs. an email for maximum impact.
Dear _________,
Thank you for recognizing public concern in the case of Tiger Lily, a kitten scorched alive inside an oven on May 6, 2009. I understand Cheyenne Cherry, 17, is charged with felony aggravated animal cruelty, burglary, arson, criminal trespass, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief.
I respectfully ask for your utmost deliberation in the investigation of Cherry and her accomplice, who allegedly broke into ex-roommate Valerie Hernandez’s home and trapped Tiger Lily inside an activated stove. Apparently, they ransacked the apartment and raised the stove’s heat before fleeing with stolen items. The girls never heard Tiger Lily’s last screams and scratches against the oven door.
Please seek maximum adult incarceration of two years for felony animal cruelty. Cherry also faces possible jail terms of 15 years for second-degree burglary, one year for arson, and four years for criminal mischief. I urge you to hold both teens accountable. Both require psychological evaluation and therapy. Both should be barred from possessing or working with animals.
At the very least, they ought to be interned in a juvenile detention hall until age 18 (if applicable). Then, reassessment of the girls’ personality traits can determine if adult imprisonment is necessary.
Adolescents who commit brutal crimes against humans usually begin with animals. Columbine shooter Eric Harris, 18, smashed mice with a crowbar and set them on fire. Washington D.C. serial killer Lee Boyd Malvo killed stray cats with a slingshot. Kip Kinkle blew up a cow and burned a live cat. He then shot 25 classmates and murdered his parents in Springfield, Oregon. After Luke Woodham, 16, mortally stabbed his mother and shot nine others, he confessed to bludgeoning his dog with baseball bats and setting her on fire.
These murderers, like Cherry, were able to torture and kill without remorse. Indeed, the intentional burning of an animal is a “particularly significant predictor of violent and even homicidal behavior,” says Dr. Randall Lockwood of ASPCA Anti-Cruelty Initiatives and a frequent consultant for cruelty investigators, law enforcers and mental health professionals.
Cherry “thought we would play a joke on Valerie.” But she and her friend are not guilty of warped humor or bad choices. Roasting a defenseless kitten is the calculated action of a sociopath and a predator.
Thank you for prosecuting Cherry and her accomplice to the fullest degree allowed by law.
A well-named Lucky the Cat is back home after a 26-story plunge from a Manhattan highrise.
In something of a freak accident, Keri Hostetler was cleaning her apartment in preparation for visting guests. She cracked open a window a few inches — something she “never, ever did” — to air the place out. Leaving the door ajar, she left to work on her laundry.
“I came back up from doing laundry and saw that the room where the window was open — the door was open. I rushed in to the window and saw the window washers kind of waving for me.”
Directly across the street, two men on scaffolding spotted Lucky on the narrow ledge.
“The cat was on the ledge and we saw it trying to turn a corner. But there was no ledge for him to step on,” said John Hayes. “My partner told me to get my camera, so I did.”
Lucky fell 26 stories and landed on a cement balcony. Hayes snapped three photos: Lucky on the ledge, Lucky in midair, and Lucky’s landing.
Back in the apartment, Keri realized to late that Lucky was missing. “I ran around the apartment screaming for him,” she said. “And then I saw the window and I knew what had happened.” When she went to the window, Hayes was signaling her, letting her know that Lucky had fallen.
Lucky was rushed to a vet, where he was treated for minor injuries — a broken toe and a broken lower jaw.
A Niagra city clerk was able to snap a photo of the elusive cat.
The following article from the Niagara Gazette describes a smart cat who took up residence inside Niagara Fall’s new “impregnable” municipal complex, and resisted attempts at eviction:
COPS NOTEBOOK: Police nab feline … finally
There are many words you can use to describe the new Niagara Falls municipal complex.
One of them would be FORTRESS.
The new home of Cataract City cops and the City Courts is nothing if not impregnable. Between closed circuit surveillance cameras, multiple security doors and a squad of newly minted court security officers, the building appears impenetrable.
Unless, apparently, you’re a wily feral cat.
After taking over control of the complex from the contractors, police and court officials discovered that a cat had taken up residence in the facility and seemed to like it there. How exactly it got in and how it was getting food and water were mysteries.
One thing was certain though, the cat would not be caught easily.
It appeared to prowl in the offices of the City Court Clerk. One of the clerks was even able to snap a picture of the somewhat demonic looking (OK, maybe you can blame that on the lighting in the room) feline but not catch it.
The day before the new building went into service, a team of trained police officers “swept” the facility in search of the little critter but came up empty. However, as the officers prepared to leave, after resecuring the building, one of them happened to glance at a window in the office of Chief City Court Clerk Martha Farbo-Lincoln.
“The cat was sitting there in the window, just looking at us like we were fools,” the officer said.
Police were prepared to bring in K-9 Pharaoh to find the furry little intruder, when court personnel were finally able to corner it the court clerk’s mailroom earlier this week. Finally trapped, the cat did not go quietly or easily.
“He was just wild,” Farbo-Lincoln said. “You couldn’t touch him or have someone take him home.”
So, court personnel simply chased the cat out of the building but not before he sprayed the mailroom.
“Yeah,” Farbo-Lincoln laughed. “It’s pretty bad in there. We’re going to have to get that cleaned up.”
Alison’s early artistic career focused on photographic imagery, often social commentary pieces. Over the years, her style mellowed, becoming more playful. Her work is aimed at people who just need some smile therapy. 
They grew on me rapidly though and for a number of years I had four. Chester, one of my original cats, was truly the inspiration for my first pieces of cat art.
has to work with the painting. When I work on custom orders the wishes/requests of the customer play heavily into what the final outcome will be.
Alison: I can’t say that I’d really choose one over the other — other than to say that most of my creations are of domestic short hairs. Polymer clay doesn’t lend itself well to making furry, long-haired cats (or at least I haven’t figured out how) — and my own cats have all been domestic short hairs. I had a fabulous calico named Jane for many years — so you’ll still find a lot of calicos in my work, along with tigers and tuxedos. I’ve been trying to getting the speckled, brindle coloring of my tortie Livee but am struggling a bit with that.
Karen’s note: “ACEO” is an acronym for Art Cards Editions and Originals. ACEOs always measure 2-1/2 inches by 3-1/2 inches, the size of a standard sports trading card. Other than size, there are no other restrictions or limitations, and they can be created in any medium, including but not limited to paper, canvas, wood, clay, fabric and metal. 
The deceased: Pretty Boy, the Mayor of East Seventh Street, a dignified white cat who had a confident swagger — and a distaste for rainy weather. Thus the long-delayed memorial service to sprinkle his cremated remains along the path he once strutted. 
she described as an act of revenge against an ex-roommate. It was a particularly heinous act for which the accused has shown no remorse. According to published reports, Cherry confessed to the crime and allegedly told investigators “I hate cats.” Cherry dismissed the murder as a “practical joke.” 
