Catman - Rescues Stray Cat from Roof

Residents of Briggs Avenue in the Bronx had gathered outside the home for several days as a cat was stuck on the second-floor roof of a home, but eventually directed to a third-floor bathroom window. -Photo by David Greene

By David Greene

Bronx Voice

November 10, 2023 

BRONX - A stray cat that was stuck on the roof of a Briggs Avenue home for several days was saved by a volunteer after several attempts during the week by residents and fire department officials had failed.

Residents say the home at 2761 Briggs Avenue, between East 196 Street and East 197 Street in Fordham Manor section had been attracting crowds all week. The crowd would stare up at the second-floor ledge of the three-family home where the cat had been stuck.

John Debacker (Right) of Long Island Cat and Kitten Solutions was assisted by an unidentified homeowner who managed to get the cat to safety on. -Photo by David Greene

Witnesses reported that fire officials were called to the home, but they were unable to reach the cat with a ladder from the street. A woman who said that she had provided food and water for the trapped cat and other strays on the block, explained, “We’ve been trying to get him for four or five days.”

The woman, who declined to be identified, said she believed the cat entered an open door of a home at 2759 Briggs and made it to the third floor of that home when it apparently got “spooked” and went out an open window and jumped to the second-floor roof of an adjacent home.

A second unidentified woman then joined the conversation, adding, “That makes more sense because this door stays open, and she went in there and walked up the stairs… how’s she going to jump all the way up there.”

The cat was eventually saved by volunteer John Debacker, vice president of Long Island Cat and Kitten Solution, who was allowed into the home by a resident and with a ladder, was able to eventually coach the cat into an open window and then trapped in the bathroom and caged. A task once performed by the former Center for Animal Care and Control, now called Animal Care Centers of New York City (ACC), which recently stopped accepting stray dogs because their facility is filled to capacity.

Debacker was asked why ACC no longer responds to such calls, he replied, “They don’t have any staff.” He said of the rescue, “It took about a half hour to an hour, yeah they let me inside, I climbed up on the roof and we got an eight-foot ladder, and we climbed up and scared her inside.”

The rescued cat enjoyed his first meal after several days on the roof of a Briggs Avenue home before it was rescued. -Photo by David Greene

The cat, now crying from inside its cage, was taken back outside and released once again onto the street because Debacker explained it was a “feral cat.” It immediately ran under a parked car for safety. The unidentified woman then gave the cat a plate of food which it quickly ate.

In May the city broke ground on a $92 million ACC at 2050 Baychester Avenue. The 50,000-foot facility will be able to house 140 cats, 70 dogs and 30 rabbits. It is expected to be completed in the spring of 2025.

Long Island Cat and Kitten Solution opened in 2014 and all “Trap and Release” rescues are performed by volunteers as the organization depends on donations. 

Anyone with a similar feline problem or would like more information on the organization can call them at (516) 431-8794 or visit their website at: https://licatskittens.org/.