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Coney Island Cat Is Last Tenant of Henderson Building

Posted in Animals, Demolition, tagged animal rescue, Coney Island, feral cat, Henderson Buildng, stray cat, urban cat on September 24, 2010| Leave a Comment »

September 23, 2010: Cat Living in the Henderson Building Comes Out for Supper. Photo © AnyMouseHero via Amusing the Zillion

When Faber’s Fascination closed on Labor Day and began moving out, ATZ reported that the arcade was the last tenant of the soon-to-be demolished Henderson Building. Well, one more tenant- a grey cat – was discovered yesterday by a photographer who went there to document the demolition of the Surf Hotel on the building’s second floor. “The cat went under the gate of Shoot Out the Star into the Henderson Building when I came close,” says the anon photographer. A full plate of food and a full cup of water had been placed outside the building, probably by one of the cat lovers who care for Coney Island’s feral, stray and abandoned cat population.

As our regular readers know, ATZ loves a Coney Island cat story, preferably with photos or a video. For “I Love NYC Pets Month” in January, we wrote about the cats who live beneath the ramps to Coney Island’s Boardwalk and within its vacant buildings and an attempted cat rescue. We regularly feature Coney Island cats and kittens up for adoption. Now we seem to have hit upon an unfortunate new theme: cats displaced by redevelopment.

September 23, 2010: Demolition in Progress of the Surf Hotel in Henderson Building. Photo © AnyMouseHero via Amusing the Zillion

The appearance of the Henderson Building cat amid yesterday’s demolition of the Surf Hotel and the removal of the hotel’s original sign reminded us of our last day at Astroland. We’re not referring to the park’s last day of operation on Sept 7, 2008. We mean Astroland’s very last day, the day the lease expired and the property had to be vacated: January 31, 2009. On that day, we helped rescue a few signs from the water flume for the Coney Island History Project. By then there wasn’t much left of Astroland and we didn’t have the heart to take more than a few photos. One of the pix that we didn’t take: Two stray cats who had long found shelter in Astroland and were displaced by the teardown. As we stood outside the now demolished Feltman’s kitchen –home of the hot dog–and peered in at the original tile floor, the cats paced and waited. An Astroland worker came out and fed the Astro cats their last meal.

For information about feral cats, visit the website of the New York City Feral Cats Initiative, a joint program of two private non-profit organizations–the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals and Neighborhood Cats.

September 23, 2010: Last Happy Meal for Cat Living in Coney Island’s Henderson Building? Photo © AnyMouseHero via Amusing the Zillion

I Love NYC Pets Month Preview: Coney Island Cat Rescue

Posted in Animals, tagged animal rescue, Brooklyn, cat adoption, Coney Island, feral cat, I Love NYC Pets Month, Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals, stray cat on January 27, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Grill House Kitties on Coney Island's Boardwalk. Photo © silversalty via flickr

Beneath the ramps to Coney Island’s Boardwalk and within its vacant buildings, feral, stray and abandoned cats find shelter. The cats are regularly fed and looked after by a contingent of Coney Island cat lovers. They have been photographed by residents and tourists alike. Devin Sturdy, a tourist from Melbourne, Australia, was visiting Coney Island in December when he happened to see a man feeding a dozen cats and trying to rescue a sick one. When we found Devin’s video on YouTube the other day, we were reminded just how many cats are up for adoption by animal rescue groups. There are currently 162,407 cats, seeking a “forever home,” or even a foster home, on Petfinder.com. Take a look at their photos and read their bios. Make room for them in your hearts and give them homes. February will be “I Love NYC Pets” month, a citywide pet adoption celebration sponsored by the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC Animals. Their slogan is “Will You Be My Furry Valentine?”

When ATZ contacted videographer Devin Sturdy in Australia, he said he’d always been fascinated by Coney Island and “it seemed more appealing to me in winter, quiet and spooky.” Here’s what he told us about the Coney Island cat rescue:

Shortly after disembarking the subway train, I noticed a man feeding cats, not just one or two, but tens of cats. I asked him what he was doing. He was from New Jersey and worked as a volunteer for an organisation that helps animals. He had driven to Coney Island to pick up a specific cat that a friend had told him about. It had been recently abandoned and it had been seen in the area.

Because the cat was not feral, and relatively housebound, he thought it was not necessary to bring a cage with him. However, upon arrival, he noticed another cat that had a sore on its face. He thought it may be a tumor and was concerned about its welfare and wanted to take it to a friend of his who is a vet.

He slowly fed the cat for more than half an hour in an attempt to coax the cat into the car. Finally, after gaining enough trust to be able to touch the cat, he grabbed it by the scruff of its neck. He said that feral cats either immediately relax in a closed environment or go nuts. As you can see from the video, this cat was not comfortable.

I stopped filming because I was concerned that the cat was going to hurt itself. I can tell you that the man opened the door shortly afterward (a couple of seconds) and the cat calmly stepped out of the car and wandered off. He told me that he would return later that day with a cage and attempt to find the cat.

I am a bit of an advocate of adopting stray pets. We rescued our cat Kitty (original name!) from the streets and she lived to be seventeen years old!

We understand completely, Devin. After our own beloved 13-year-old cat went to cat heaven, we find ourselves spending a lot of time “just looking” at photos on Petfinder. By February we’ll be ready to adopt or foster a cat or two.

Here’s a calendar of animal adoption events in New York City and a list of animal rescue groups grouped by borough. If you can’t adopt a pet, please consider helping out these organizations by volunteering or making a donation to support their work. Me-ow.