The police got a call this weekend about a potential cat-astrophe on the Upper East Side.
At about 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, someone spotted a huge number of kittens locked inside a van on East 63rd Street and First Avenue.
Purr-trol officers from the 19th Precinct arrived, and with help from the NYPD’s Emergency Services Unit, removed 21 cats from the locked Chrysler Pacifica van.
With temperatures in the 30s, the kittens may have been just a whisker away from danger.
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“Cold cats left in a car overnight rescued!” the 19th Precinct wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “Shortly before 5am, we received a 911 call of kittens locked in an unoccupied van. With freezing temps our cops acted fast & with the help of our Emergency Services Unit, freed the 21 felines & transported them to @NYCACC for care.”
A video shows an officer doting on several small kittens in the same crate.
Cold cats left in a car overnight rescued!
Shortly before 5am, we received a 911 call of kittens locked in an unoccupied van. With freezing temps our cops acted fast & with the help of our Emergency Services Unit, freed the 21 felines & transported them to @NYCACC for care. pic.twitter.com/798PcVtgKU
— NYPD 19th Precinct (@NYPD19Pct) November 25, 2023
Police say the cats appeared to be in good health and feline fine. All 21 were transported to Animal Care Centers of NYC for examination.
No arrests have been made as of writing, though police initially believed they were dealing with a cat-burglar.
An investigation remains ongoing.
A report elsewhere said the owner of the van said the cats were only left for a brief time while other business was attended to. That report didn’t address why the 21 cats, or what would happen to them or the owner.