If you’ve walked down Parkview Avenue, you’ve likely met Squid, the friendly neighborhood cat often seen exploring the street, lounging on porches or making himself at home in his neighbors’ homes. After being struck and killed by a driver earlier this month, the loss has since touched the hearts of his fellow Oakland community and friends.
Andrea Boykowcyz, an Oakland native and Squid’s owner, adopted Squid as a kitten in 2023 with his two siblings, Cocoa and Beatrice. Boykowcyz ran an Instagram account for Squid where she shared the cat’s encounters with the Oakland community, including many South Oakland-based Pitt students. On Tuesday, Nov. 4, Squid was struck by a driver driving on the wrong side of the road, igniting community-wide grief and traffic-related concerns.
After having Squid and his siblings for around a year, Boykowcyz allowed the cats to venture outside starting in 2024.
“They were a lively set, and they were really well bonded. But they also had very distinct personalities,” Boykowcyz said. “Squid was the roamer of that set of three. Beatrice doesn’t venture off the block, [and] Cocoa didn’t go very far.”
In September, Squid’s sibling, Cocoa, was also struck and killed by a driver in South Oakland. However, the community reaction to Squid’s passing was different.
“Squid was just one tiny little animal, and he was pouring all of this love out into the world with everybody who interacted with him,” Boykowcyz said. “It magnifies your own heart, but then it also magnifies the sense of loss, because it’s not just your own grief you’re experiencing this way — you’re experiencing other people’s [grief] as well. The loss just seems that much greater.”
Sam Siedelhofer, a senior health informatics major, was in class when she heard what happened to Squid. Siedelhofer lives on Parkview, where she often found Squid on her porch, waiting for her or her roommates to let him explore their home.
“I was so upset because I knew one of his siblings also passed the same way,” Siedelhofer said. “I just feel like people need to slow down when they’re driving on Parkview.”
Marisa Sala, a junior finance and accounting major, would take frequent walks on Parkview to see Squid, where he’d join her on her stroll. Sala was devastated by the news after just seeing Squid the previous week.
“I go on a lot of walks, and I would always go down Parkview, specifically to see Squid,” Sala said. “We would walk together a lot and I always loved to take pictures of him.”
While they’re at college, Sala and her roommates miss seeing their pets from home everyday. To them, Squid was like their pet.
“We just loved seeing him,” Siedelhofer said. “And my roommates always wanted a pet in the house, and we always missed that, with being away from home so much. He was like our little pet.”
Boykowcyz plans on keeping her other cats indoors from now on. Boykowcyz, who is also the Executive Director of Oakland Planning and Development Corporation, said much of Oakland’s pedestrian safety issues come from Central Oakland.
“There’s a lot of traffic-created pedestrian safety issues all over Oakland, especially in Central Oakland, where there’s a lot of traffic demand,” Boykowcyz said.
Boykowcyz said the Oakland construction traffic has caused concern throughout the area.
“The residents on the streets, even apart from Squid and the danger to him, have been anxious about the danger of traffic running fast down the street for as long as [construction] has been in place,” Boykowcyz said. “It’s been a problem. Everybody has noted it.”
Boykowcyz said traffic issues, like speeding, have been a problem since the closing of the Charles Anderson Memorial Bridge in 2023, along with other sections nearby. Since the spring, sections of the Boulevard of Allies between the bridge and Dawson Street have also been periodically closed off.
“[The closures] have been a saga that was supposed to have lasted only four months,” Boykowcyz said. “But while that detour is in place, anybody who wants to get to the Swinburne Bridge is being routed up and around Oakland Square and down Parkview.”
According to Boykowcyz, drivers often speed down Parkview to quickly exit the detour and get back onto main roads.
“[Drivers] are like, ‘ah, this thing!’ and they gun their engines as they’re going down Parkview to exit the confusing detour [through Parkview],” Boykowcyz said.
On Tuesday, Oct. 28, 71-year-old Bobby Paige died after being hit in a traffic incident. A vigil was held by CPS on Sunday, Nov. 16, to raise awareness on creating safer streets in Oakland.
Earlier this year, OPDC and Complete Streets at Pitt worked together to track pedestrian travel on Bates Street through their Bates Street 24 Hour Watch Party. With the data collected, OPDC reached out to Pittsburgh’s City traffic engineers and City council.
Lydia Swanson is the founder of Oakland TNR coalition, where they aim to provide proper care to feral cats through rehabilitation and provide “forever homes” for them. Swanson said cars are the “number one” cause of death for outdoor cats.
“It’s really rare to find that have been hit [by cars] that make it,” Swanson said. “I can’t even count how many [struck cats there have] been. It’s just an unfortunate truth of cats being outside.”
Though an advocate for keeping cats indoors, Swanson said there are ways to ensure outdoor cats safety.
“Whether it’s harness training or putting a GPS tracker on their collars, there are measures that can be taken in a way that’s safe,” Swanson said.
Boykowcyz said familiarizing outdoor pets with neighbors is a good way to ensure your pet is safe and in good hands.
“There’s a lot of eyes on the street in Oakland, and people do look out for each other in really helpful ways,” Boykowcyz said.
Boykoycyz said there are many ways to create a sense of community, including through animals.
“It doesn’t even have to be a person,” Boykowcyz said. “There are lots of different ways in which people can find a way to build a community, and with the people in that community. I hope if there is a lesson to be drawn from all of this, building a community is part of it.”