Showing posts with label Leo the cat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Leo the cat. Show all posts

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Leo the famous barge cat needs a new home


You may remember this story that we reported on back on July 2... when two East Village residents were walking through East River Park and noticed an abandoned cat on the off-shore industrial area opposite the East River Environmental Learning Center.

It became a big story... after a group of volunteers rescued the cat, now named Leo. Now, one of its owners, Robert, writes in with the news that Leo needs a new home. And here's why:

Leo has been happy for months in our little one bedroom apartment in the east village, and I'm happy to say we've saved his life. ... He's now house trained and healthy with a lovely coat of fur — unlike when we found him when he was malnourished and covered in engine grease from where he'd been hiding.


So why are we looking for a new home for Leo? Well, unfortunately, we recently had our cat from the UK (we're a British couple living here) shipped over to New York to join us. He's a docile and relaxed fluff ball called Willow, and although lovable to everyone that meets him, Leo doesn't like him one bit.

In fact, Leo hates on him. It has now been 3 months and the two of them can't get on. Leo is a wonderful cat but we've come to the realization that Leo is only happy alone. He's very territorial and becomes aggressive around new cats. We are now separating the two and Leo is crying the house down and desperate to be let out of the kitchen (his favorite room with his bed), which we can't do with Willow in the room. They have now had no less than 6 fights, each more severe than the last and it's heartbreaking. I want to keep Leo and I want him and Willow to get on but they won’t.


We have been to every pet store, advice network, and generally good cat person we know and we have tried everything people have recommend. Nothing worked. We’re now completely out of options, other than to find Leo a new loving home.


Some facts about Leo:
• Leo's estimated age is 2 years old, but we suspect he’s only just there because he’s a young boy.
• He may have been mistreated (how else did he end up on a barge) or he may have been feral. I'm not sure it's the latter because he instantly knew how to use the litter, eat from his bowl, and generally make his way around the home.
• He is house trained.
• He can become agitated but generally he’s a lovely cat with a good demeanor.
• He has been trained to only scratch his scratching post

Anyone?


Here is a contact email

Previously on EV Grieve:
This cat is stranded off East River Park

Monday, July 4, 2011

'Daily News' covers East River cat rescue story


Here's the link if you're interested. One note... East Village resident Clotilde Testa and her boyfriend Robert Walker first spotted the cat Friday. Clotilde said that the cat's name will be Leo — he was found on a barge called "Uncle Leo." He was nicknamed Skipper, though she thinks Leo is more fitting. She plans on officially adopting Leo tomorrow.

[In the Daily News photo — Christine Berk who helped rescue Leo and Codi from the Animal Care & Control.]

Previously on EV Grieve:
This cat is stranded off East River Park