Add The New York Post on Google A sadistic creep wiped out an entire Brooklyn cat colony last week by pumping the felines full of enough rat poison to “take out an elephant,” their devastated caretaker said.
At least 18 cats and three raccoons were callously killed in the mass murder, which has ignited outrage in the Bath Beach neighborhood.
Albert Berto discovered the horrifying scene last Tuesday morning when he stepped outside to give the 24 cats their daily breakfast — but only one cat rushed to the sound of the shaking food can.
At least 18 cats were found dead in a Brooklyn yard this week. Albert Berto That’s when he looked beneath his deck and found the bodies of Mr. Weatherby, Mr. Yellow, the Tiger Twins and three more — all bleeding from the nose, mouth and rectum.
He found more bodies in the following week until he recovered 18 cats and three raccoons.
“I love those cats. I took them in. I can’t even believe this is happening. The pain they must have suffered. It’s unbelievable,” Berto told The Post.
“I can’t sleep. I gotta take NyQuil every night to go to sleep. I’m just constantly dreaming about seeing them pulling those cats out.”
Berto, who had cared for the cats for eight years, instantly knew that the colony was the target of poisoning, possibly delivered through poisoned food.
Albert Berto had cared for the colony for eight years. Albert Berto The ASPCA took the bodies of the first seven victims in for a necropsy, the results of which is still pending and could take weeks.
Albert and local animal activists took another kitten from the colony, which they found later in the week, to a private vet, who delivered the news that the cat had high levels of rat poison in its system, likely delivered by its food, wildlife activist Reeva Grammatikopoulos, who responded to the murder, told The Post.
“There was 800 milligrams of rat poison. The toxicology guy said it would kill an elephant. That’s what was in these cats,” said Berto.
Berto and other neighbors believe they know the sick individual responsible for the mass murder, saying the person made it clear they hated the felines and complained that the cats defecated in his yard.
The grieving Brooklyn man had even offered to clean up after the colony, but never had the opportunity.
“They took matters into their own hands. They took the cheap way out. They took the coward’s way out,” Berto said.
Only five cats survived the carnage — and Berto is desperately looking to rehome them: “They’re not safe over here.”
The NYPD’s Animal Cruelty Investigation Squad and ASPCA are still investigating the cat killing, telling The Post that there have not yet been any arrests.
The lack of accountability has ignited outrage in the South Brooklyn nabe.
A petition demanding that the NYPD and ASPCA “pursue charges against whoever is responsible” garnered over 700 signatures, while area politicians have also put pressure on the agencies to close the probe.
“My fervent hope is that their efforts will lead to the identification of the person or people behind this horrific turn of events, and that the perpetrator or perpetrators will be brought to justice,” Assemblyman William Colton wrote in a letter Wednesday.
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Stray, or “community,” cats are protected by state Agriculture and Market Laws.
Poisoning or attempted poisoning is considered a misdemeanor and punishable by up to a year in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.
