BROOKLYN, NY (PIX 11) — A disturbing mystery is unfolding in Brooklyn, where multiple stray cats have been found dead.
“All these dead animals,” said Reeva Grammatikopoulos, a Brooklyn resident. “It’s just like oh my God, the blood. All of them were bleeding out.”
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Grammatikopoulos was faced with a heartbreaking scene Tuesday when she helped pull the bodies of seven cats from underneath her friend’s deck.
“It didn’t even hit me until I got out of the hole, and they were all on the floor lined up and then I just — that’s when I cried,” she said.
Grammatikopoulos is a nurse and believes someone may have poisoned the cats by putting rat poison in their food, although a cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
“Cats won’t eat rat poison if it’s not in food,” she said. “They’re not going to just be like ‘Oh let me go eat that and die’, ya know?”
Senator Steve Chan highlighted three Brooklyn locations where residents say the stray cat population is declining, including one area where multiple cats have died under unexplained circumstances. Those streets are:
86th Street and 16th Avenue
63rd Street between 9th Avenue and 12th Avenue
West 6th Street and Avenue S
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Senator Chan said he’s not sure why someone would poison the cats.
“I don’t know,” Chan said. “Somebody who doesn’t like cats. Somebody feeling like the cats are disruptive to the neighborhood or they make a mess.”
He added, “We need these cats. They help control the rodent population. They’re actually friendly.”
Police tell PIX 11 News the cats will undergo necropsies as they work to determine how they died. A $2,000 reward is now being offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Senator Chan is adding another $500.
“The neighborhood as a whole and as a community, we’re all devastated by this so if the person who’s responsible sees this, we’re coming for you,” said Chan.
That reward sign is posted on the corner of 86th Street and 16th Avenue, above a neighborhood watch sign reminding residents to report any suspected animal abuse to the police.
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