They pulled off a perfect rescue.
A group of Hell's Kitchen neighbors have come together to rescue a cat they found abandoned in a closed deli for more than five weeks.
“From poverty to riches: She went from a cold basement to a comfortable apartment where she slept curled up. [a] “She was asleep in her bed,” said Tiff Winton, one of her neighbors who came to help her.
Residents told The Washington Post last week they spotted the abandoned cat, Layla, meowing sadly in the window of Citra Gourmet Deli on 10th Avenue near West 45th Street.
The kitten's plight was first reported by the blog W42ST.
Ben Rugman, who lives nearby, tried to feed the cat through the broken door but was unsuccessful, so he called 311 to report possible animal cruelty.
“I thought my cat was going to die. I didn't know if there was air conditioning and there was broken glass on the floor,” Lagman said. “It was awful.”
“The poor thing was in a terrible state, dirty and hungry,” he said.
Ms Winton said the pet, who would have died without even having cheese to nibble on, was only kept alive by its owner dropping by every now and then to feed it.
“She was meowing constantly – she was hungry,” Winton said.
“There were cat food tins scattered all over the shop, a bed in the cold, creepy basement and she was completely dehydrated. She survived because she was fed, but they just came randomly,” Winton said.
Winton said neighbours got together through a Facebook group on Sunday with the goal of getting in touch with the shopkeeper.
Eventually, a man with the key met them at the liquor store and they agreed to hand the cat over to Winston on Monday.
“She was a really good kitten, she didn't fight back, she seemed to know she was a rescue,” Winton said.
According to an Instagram post by Mirjana Bicari, another local resident who helped with the rescue, the general store owner told neighbours that he had been feeding the cat but didn't want to take it to the new store because the cat “likes to scratch.”
Rugman has since adopted the lucky cat, who is enjoying his luxurious new life.
“Right now the cat is lying on Ben's bed watching TV,” Winton says. “Within an hour of him being there he was relaxed and purring.”
Ms Lagman, who set up a GoFundMe page for the rescued cat, said the lucky feline was initially frightened after she took him to the vet but quickly calmed down and became cuddly.
The vet told Lagman the cat was probably in his teens, and he's considering renaming it “Deli.”
“Her personality has changed from very timid to very loving,” he said. “I'm happy to have her.”
