A beloved Manhattan bodega cat was horrifically mauled to death by two pit bulls last week as the dogs’ heartless female owner and pals “watched and cheered,” animal rescuers claimed to The Post.
Tragic adorable tabby Freddy was attacked around 9 p.m. Friday outside Michelle Flowers, where he lived, in Washington Heights, according to volunteer rescuers with Cat Collective NY, who said they looked at surveillance video and spoke with witnesses.
The pit bulls’ owner and pals then smoked, danced and ate food while taking photos and mimicking the grisly scene, the group told The Post.
“Someone deliberately set dogs on a defenseless cat while people watched and cheered,” said Dan Rimada of Bodega Cats of New York — calling the incident pure “evil.”
While the store was closed and its owners were home during the attack, local residents who saw the gruesome event alerted a local feeder with Cat Collective, which in turn informed the flower-shop-bodega owners, who had rescued Freddy in 2020.
The store owner “collapsed in tears” when rescuers broke the news to him.
Meanwhile, volunteers took poor Freddy’s remains in a garbage bag to a vet and spent about $400 on the cat’s cremation, said Emily Petit of Cat Collective.
Freddy the striped shop cat was known to bask in the sun, eagerly receive loving pats from neighbors and “brought smiles to so many,” Cat Collective NY said in an Instagram tribute.
“Losing him feels like a terrible injustice, and we must ensure that the person responsible for this heartbreaking act faces consequences.”
The rescuers are now seeking to identify the dogs’ owner and to warn others of the attack. Cat Collective is offering a $200 reward for the names of the bystanders, too.
“Anyone with information needs to contact the police immediately,” said Rimada, who recently teamed up with city Councilman Keith Powers to “fully legalize” bodega cats in the city by having them recognized officially as pets, thus better protecting them.
Still, “harm or death to an animal caused by another animal is not a criminal matter,” an NYPD rep has told The Post – a matter that has left owners of mauled pets with no avenues for justice outside of civil court.
A state bill to close the legal loophole, dubbed Penny’s Law after Penny the Chihuahua was mauled by two pit bulls on the Upper West Side in May, remains stalled in committee. A similar bill at the city level is being drafted by Councilwoman Gale Brewer.
