BY YVONNE COLLERY | I am sorry to report that there is still no good news concerning the four missing cats, Sago, Sylvie, Leather Face and Ryce.
The ASPCA had been concentrating on finding Ryce, from 125 Second Ave., toward the end of their search. They did put catch-and-release cat traps in different apartments starting around April 1. However, they pulled them all out on Fri., April 9, without giving any explanation to Ryce’s family, the Lipskys.
Despite our constant requests, the interior of the block was never searched.
Three team members from RED PAW RESCUE, of Philadelphia, drove up to New York on Mon., April 13, at their own expense to help look for any cats that might be in No. 125. RED PAW is a nonprofit organization that works with the Fire Department and the American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania. They are specifically geared to look for animals in fires, gas explosions, hurricanes and other disasters. In Philly, they come at the beginning of a disaster with the Red Cross and they quickly and actively start to search for missing pets. They use some equipment that our New York groups don’t have, such as handheld infrared heat-scanning devices. (The Fire Department of New York uses these to find people in fires.)
RED PAW spent the entire day looking for the missing cats. However, the building was so cluttered with dense debris by that point that they could not get good readings from the infrared scanner.
Stuart Lipsky now goes into the back of our building shaking Ryce’s favorite cat toys, calling to her. The Lipskys believe that Ryce is somewhere close by. RED PAW says that statistically cats are mostly found within 250 feet of where they were lost. As his wife, Kayoko, says, “They are good little hiders.”
Hannah Lipsky says her prayers every night. After she thanks God for the many good things that are in her life, she asks, “Please God, can you protect my cat Ryce and bring her back to us if she is still alive?”
