A colony of community cats at 86th Street and 16th Avenue in Bay Ridge once numbered around 26, but when the regular caretaker showed up on September 7, only a single cat emerged to eat. Underneath a nearby deck, rescuers found nine cats dead, kicking off an investigation that now stretches across three separate pockets of South Brooklyn.
The discovery, first detailed by Queen of the Click, has alarmed neighbors who feed and monitor the registered colony daily. According to NBC New York, State Senator Steve Chan and animal rescue workers pulled the seven dead cats from beneath the deck on September 8, a spot where a family in the area regularly feeds the colony. St. Vincent Feline Rescue, the nonprofit working alongside Chan, reported that the cats showed signs of severe suffering as they died, and the group posted photos of the animals on Facebook.
Chan, who represents the Bay Ridge district, said he has been in touch with authorities and concerned neighbors following the deaths, per a Facebook post cited by NBC New York. Additional dead cats have since been reported on West Sixth Street by Avenue S and in the 63rd Street corridor between Ninth and 12th Avenues, according to the outlet, with Chan saying scattered cases have surfaced in other nearby parts of Brooklyn as well.
A Senator With NYPD Roots Steps In
Chan's involvement carries extra weight given his background: the District 17 senator, whose territory covers Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, and Sunset Park, served 27 years in the NYPD before retiring as a sergeant in 2020 and is a U.S. Marine veteran, according to the New York State Senate. That law-enforcement history has reportedly helped accelerate coordination with police as the case develops.
“I don't know what is happening. I'm deeply saddened by these incidents, as my own neighbors and I also care for strays,” Chan said, per NBC New York's report. Police have been notified about the reported cat deaths, the outlet's report notes, and necropsies are expected to determine what killed the animals.
In the meantime, Chan issued a public advisory on Facebook recommending that local colony caretakers crush Vitamin K tablets into cat food for two weeks as a protective measure against common commercial rodenticide toxins. Vitamin K1 is clinically used to treat anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning in pets, though the advisory itself does not confirm what, if anything, killed the Bay Ridge cats.
Custody Chain and the Forensic Process Ahead
The deceased cats retrieved by authorities in South Brooklyn were taken by officers from the 62nd Precinct, along with food, for testing, according to the same Facebook post from Chan's office. In New York City, animal cruelty investigations typically run through a citywide partnership between the NYPD Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad and the ASPCA, in which police lead field evidence collection while the ASPCA conducts veterinary forensic exams and necropsies, per research published on PMC. That partnership has covered all five boroughs since 2014.
The exact chemical or biological agent involved remains unknown, and that determination depends entirely on forensic toxicology and necropsy results still to come. While poison is strongly suspected by rescuers given the sudden nature of the deaths and the physical signs described, law enforcement is treating the cases as unexplained deaths until laboratory toxicology confirms an intentional toxicant.
The reported deaths have drawn attention from Bay Ridge community cat advocates and local social media networks. Tens of thousands of community cats live across the five boroughs, and trained volunteer networks care for free-roaming colonies.
What New York Law Says About Poisoning Animals
If investigators do confirm intentional poisoning, the legal exposure could be significant. New York law prohibits animal cruelty, and prosecutors in New York can bring both misdemeanor and felony cruelty counts depending on the evidence, according to the New York City Bar Association.
Separately, existing state animal-cruelty law provides the legal framework for any prosecution. The Queens District Attorney's Office has documented an animal-cruelty prosecution, according to the Queens District Attorney's Office.
For now, Bay Ridge's cat caretakers are left waiting on lab results while keeping a wary eye on their colonies. The case has drawn attention across South Brooklyn, underscoring the concern surrounding the reported deaths.
