Reward of up to $5,000 Offered for Help in Nabbing Person Who Abandoned Crying Cat

PETA Stresses That Cats Belong Indoors and Should Never Be Dumped Outdoors, Where They Often Face Abuse, Disease, and an Early Death

For Immediate Release:
June 6, 2016

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

A photo of a cat that went viral last week broke hearts all over the Internet. It showed a bewildered, crying cat who was abandoned on Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn next to his litterbox and all his belongings. Struck by the photo, concerned people in the neighborhood spent days searching for the petrified animal, who reportedly had sat next to his belongings crying for nearly two hours. He was eventually found in a backyard. Now named Nostrand, the cat—who has been deemed a healthy 1-year-old by a veterinarian—is scheduled to be neutered and is awaiting adoption with a local rescue group.

Abandoning an animal is a misdemeanor in New York and police have yet to determine who’s responsible for abandoning this cat, and that’s why PETA is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the crime.

“Not only does abandoning a confused, terrified cat with his litterbox on the street show an appalling disregard for others’ suffering, it’s also cause for arrest in New York,” says PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA reminds everyone that cats are ill-equipped to survive on the streets and should always be kept indoors to protect them from horrible injury, disease, and abuse.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that cats should never be abandoned or allowed outdoors without supervision, as they are at risk of being hit by cars, poisoned, or attacked by other animals or cruel people. Cats who live on the street often die from exposure, starvation, or highly contagious fatal diseases, such as rabies, feline AIDS, feline leukemia, and feline infectious peritonitis. In addition, the American Bird Conservancy estimates that free-roaming cats kill millions of birds every year.

Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-8477.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.