An abandoned bodega cat has Greenpoint residents calling for answers.
Local TNR (trap-neuter-release) rescuers Greenpoint Cats shared the story in an Instagram post. A witness claimed the cat was dumped in front of a local bodega (whose name was redacted, but social media sleuths surmised it was the newly-revamped Jose Deli Grocery).
“Someone in the bodega carried it outside in a milk crate and set it onto the ground. It was then crying in front of the bodega and outside of [name redacted in post] so the bodega guy came out and let it into the vestibule of [name redacted in post],” a screenshot from the witness reads.
Greenpoint Cats quickly sprung into action and found the cat (now nicknamed Josie) with matted fur.
“After securing her in a carrier, we visited the store to ask about the cat. They denied knowing anything about her. (‘We don’t have a cat,’)” Greenpoint Cats wrote. “A quick look in the back of the store told a different story: a filthy litter box, a bowl of dirty water, no food.”
Management tells Greenpointers that they did not dump the cat. Jose Deli Grocery (268 Franklin St.) recently changed management and reconfigured its food menu, now run by a team called MEXIDRINKSNY (however, the store’s owner remains the same).
We stopped by the space yesterday afternoon to check it out. Ricardo from MEXIDRINKSNY told us that they didn’t see what happened, but the team felt sad about it. They denied ever seeing the cat in the store and said she was kept in the back where a neighbor would feed her, in a room that they don’t have access to (MEXIDRINKSNY took over the deli only a couple of months ago).
The room was closed off when we visited. We passed along our contact info so that the store owner could get in touch with us, but have not heard anything as of press time. It remains unclear who was ultimately responsible for the cat’s care and who released her outside.
Regardless, Josie was undoubtedly in bad shape. You can donate to Greenpoint Cats here; they are also looking for a foster!