30 Cats Found ‘Abandoned’ on the Side of N.Y. Road

Thirty cats were found abandoned on the side of the road next to Southern State Parkway near North Massapequa in Long Island on Tuesday, April 29.

The cats, which were discovered in cages with no food or water, were rescued by John DeBacker, who told News 12 Connecticut he was “horrified once I came upon the situation.” The group of cats was initially spotted by two teenagers riding their bicycles in the nearby woods.

DeBacker, alongside state police, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), animal control and other volunteers helped rescue the cats on the evening of April 29.

“They didn’t seem overly neglected so someone has been taking care of them in the past, but it probably just got too overwhelming. That’s a lot of cats for someone to take care of,” DeBacker told NBC 4 New York.

The cats were brought to the Town of Oyster Bay animal shelter in Syosset, N.Y., for a health evaluation. There, it was determined that the cats’ owner, Thomas McDermott, had recently become unhoused and was living in the woods with the cats for approximately seven days.

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“I love them they are my cats and I’ve been taking care of them for years. I do everything I can. I spend twenty dollars on food for them every two days. Yesterday I left them food and water at 8 a.m. and I left for work. They must have finished the food when they were discovered,” McDermott, 29, told NBC 4.

Syosset town officials said in a press conference that the woods are not a suitable home for McDermott or the cats. The Nassau County district attorney has launched an investigation into the situation in order to determine if any animal cruelty laws were violated.

“The cats need to have shelter, to have food the right vaccines and medicines they need. We can’t have them living by the parkway in cages,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne. T. Donnelly said in a statement.

McDermott hopes to get his cats back from the shelter where they are currently being housed, but the cats’ home placement is dependent on the outcome of the DA’s investigation. There have been no criminal charges filed against McDermott at this time, per the Nassau County Police Department.