Despite initial reports that a long-running feral cat colony at Grand St.’s Amalgamated Dwellings had been snuffed out back in June, it turns out there was one survivor. Yet, on July 15, Tuxedo, the final feline of the tribe, was also found dead, in the last meow of the “Broome St. Alley” cats.
Against local animal advocates’ protests, the co-op board had recently decided to block the cats’ access to the complex’s basement.
Janet Jensen, one of the residents who fought to save the feral cat colony, explained that, even though it’s warm outside now, the cats faced challenges. Both Tuxedo and Scrappy, for example, likely died of cancerous tumors, she said, while a third senior cat, which wound up trapped in the basement, “may have been literally scared to death.”
“What was so sad is that we told the management the cats would not live long — the rest of the tribe had all died,” she said. “They lived much longer than feral cats usually do. We had just hoped somehow that the three elderly cats could live out the summer in relative comfort. Change of any kind is hard on feral cats, and the fact that they had no real hiding places was very hard on them, probably hastening their death. We’re glad they are no longer suffering.”
