Many of you might know “Morris” the orange cat who lived in the manger outside of the St. Anthony’s Church on Manhattan Ave. Reader Emily informed us sadly that poor Morris has passed away and one of his humans wrote this note for him. Even the littlest creatures touch our lives and are very important members in our community. If anyone has any photos of Morris, please email us or send them to us via Instagram @greenpointers so we can share them.
Here is the letter to Morris left near his manger:
R.I.P Morris (my name for you),
Found out today around 6pm that someone had poisoned you. I hope that’s not true. This manger was your home. Jesus was born in a manger surrounded by animals. When I first saw you here I prayed that guardian angels would take care of you. They fed you brought you water and catnip. You would come out and often you got petted; and when they walked away you wanted to follow them home. I now pray that you may be born again and live in a nice home, warm and full of love for you.
This totally bums me out. I was wondering what happened to his little bin with water and food the other day. I was hoping it wasn’t this. Thanks for sharing.
Many thanks to whomever (Jen G. ?) posted this poignantly beautiful tribute to this wonderful cat. I am left breathless by the cruelty perpetrated in this church–how utterly and heartbreakingly sad.
To be fair, I don’t know the specifics of what happened to him. That is just what the note said. I can’t imagine the church or anyone from the church trying to harm the little guy.
I didn’t write the letter. One of the cat’s friends posted it nearby and a reader emailed me the photo.
Jen,
I didn’t think, nor did I mean to imply that the church or anyone connected to it was responsible for the cat’s death rather, I used the term “church” in terms of location. I am going to look into this and see what can be found out about a possible crime having been committed. It is not enough to shake our heads and say ” oh, how sad” –we must be their voice.
Totally! And let me know what you find out. Just hoped that I didn’t sound like I was saying that.
RIP, Morris. 🙁
Although I’d never met you Morris, I wish you all the happiness that shedding your earthly form can bring. RIP
This breaks my heart.
Sad news, she was a very friendly tabby, always running up for pets :[.
When did this happen? I saw a woman on Sunday with him in a travel carrier sitting on the church steps. I thought it was odd.
RIP neighbor.
this is incredibly sad. i loved this cat and always stopped to pet him when i walked by. he will be missed!
This makes me so sad and mad. She was a cute little kittie with a great personality. Grrrr.
this really bums me out. i loved that cat and would always hang with it when i got coffee from upright.
What a bummer. This cat greeted me and my girlfriend every weekend when getting coffee at Upright Cafe.
He was sooooo friendly. I’m hoping that he wasn’t poisoned. You’d have to be a total scumbag to poison a cat, and one that lived at a church at that.
After reading the above comment posted by “anonymous”, I sensed a glimmer of hope that his death was just a misunderstanding but I have just learned that it is not. I spoke on the phone earlier with someone at the church, a lovely woman named Christine, and she said that he was seen in the morning apparently healthy and then found dead a few hour later–this is why poisoning is strongly suspected. The food that was left daily by a compassionate man was out in the open and accessable to any passerby. I, as I’m sure any other animal lover, would like that his death not be in vain, and not be overlooked and forgotten. I therefore I ask that any local person that has posted or will post, particularly those that have had contact with Morris, to get involved–I am quite far and am not able to do the face-to-face that is required. The church may have video survaillance in the front and the police can work with this or other leads. A little footwork might likely go a long way…and possibly prevent another innocent from suffering the same fate as Morris.
I live next door to the church. Let me know how I can help.
🙁 I loved that cat, so friendly and would come when called.. we called him Jesus (for obvious reasons).
What is truly tragic is how many people knew of his plight and not a one took him in. There are many strays in Greenpoint. Humboldt/Greenpoint Avenue. Starving cats on Vandervort between Lombardy and Anthony. Norman under the trailer at the yellow bus garage. Tara at DEP on Greenpoint Avenue. And sooooooooo many more. It is shameful how everyone is posting, yet not a one took the cat in.
I called her Sammy, which seemed to fit, and worked pretty well for both sexes. I’m pretty sure she was a girl, but I’d like confirmation on that, ha. She really behaved like one.
She was my favorite kitty. I used to bring her treats and pet her. Sometimes I’d go out just to see her. I found out this news today, while at work. I haven’t cried at my desk like this in awhile. She will be missed. It’s so incredibly unfair. And evil. I hope they catch who did this. I’d personally LOVE to catch them myself.
My boyfriend lives in Greenpoint and we stop by to see Sammy (our name for her) 3-4x a week to give her cuddles and treats. This morning, on my way to work, I passed by her manger and instead of seeing her friendly little self jump down to greet me, I found her shrine, instead. Truly heartbreaking. I regret believing that she would be safe under the good will of other people; I should have taken in her in. It confounds me how needlessly cruel people can be. I’ll do whatever it takes to help find the person(s) who did this to my/our little angel.
Melissa, Anonymous, Regina & Everyone Else Reading,
Please go the local precinct and report it–it’s likely that no one yet has–and may never- and it should not go unreported- that would be the ultimate betrayal of this cat. Our cries and moaning will not help this cat, or others that may have been, or will be, poisoned by a possible psychotic roaming that neighborhood. If she were poisoned then she surely was not the first and won’t be the last.The woman that I spoke to from the church said that the area is chock full of unstable people–making it likely that the church has video cameras in place and if so, then certainly something was captured. Even if no video is available, there are many other ways to investigate–the key is to put pressure on the police–and there is power in numbers–the more people that go there to file a complaint, the more likely they are to investigate. The fact that it took place on church grounds should be further incentive for the police to look into it. I think it would be helpful to speak to someone at the church first to get as much information and details as possible (including determining if video is available) before going to the police. And Regina, your observation is inescapable and undeniable. What happened to that wonderful creature–and all other voiceless innocents, is as much our fault as it is a possible murderer’s. Caring people must do more than talk the talk. There are so many ways that this and other animal abuses and atrocities can be avoided if people would just get a little more involved….take in the loving, friendly cat that you encounter, find area TNR groups (there are many!) that will go to where the homeless kitties are running around (Humboldt,Greenpoint, Vandervoort Aves.), report and follow through/up on abuses and neglect. Please someone in Greenpoint, delve into what happened to Sammy/ Morris and let us know.
I visited Morris’ shrine this afternoon, and found that a bulletin from the ASPCA has been posted, announcing: Poisoning cats is a FELONY in New York State, punishable by up to 2 years in prison and/or a $5000 fine.
ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement is offering a $1000 reward for information.
Thank you to whoever contacted the ASPCA to report this crime.
FULL TEXT:
POISONING CATS IN NEW YORK STATE IS A FELONY.
$1000 REWARD for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the POISONING OF CATS in this neighborhood.
Punishment for this crime is two years in prison and/or a $5000 fine.
Contact:
Humane Law Enforcement Division of the ASPCA (212) 876-7700.
Neighborhood Cats, Inc. (212) 662-5761
I only knew J.C. (as I heard the kitty referred to) since New Year’s Day. I stopped after mass to view the nativity and to my sweet surprise saw the little sweetie sleeping in the manger. Over the last few months I would bring cans of food and bottles of water. It was incredible how the community came together to sponsor this friendly feline. I truly pray it was not an intentional poisoining. I simply cannot imagine the blackness of a person’s heart to do something like that. Rest in Peace, sweet J.C., you will forevery be in my heart and missed.