'Useless' Cat Wins Hearts After Being Abandoned In Queens

REGO PARK, QUEENS -- A Rego Park woman came home to find her roommate's cat, Kecha, crying in the middle of a bare apartment on Wednesday after he abruptly moved out and left only the frightened feline behind.

But what started as a sad story now has a happy ending in sight after dozens of Queens residents rallied to find the abandoned cat a new home and fundraised for its care, said Jana Rosenthal, cofounder of AlleyKattz Rescue.

"It's wonderful," she told Patch. "They always say it takes a village to help with this kind of stuff, and it truly does."

Rosenthal, of Forest Hills, is one half of the two-woman operation that is AlleyKattz Rescue. She and cofounder Sonnia Cepedia formed the cat rescue charity out of Queens a year ago and have since worked to save and re-home felines across New York City and Long Island.

Kecha became AlleyKattz's latest cause after Rosenthal received a Facebook message on Wednesday about the abandoned 2-year-old cat on Facebook. The Rego Park woman's roommate's had moved out of their apartment without warning, leaving her with Kecha, Rosenthal said.

"The owner (told his roommate) the cat was useless because she hides all the time, so he abandoned her," Rosenthal said.

The woman was slated to move out of the apartment the next day to a place that didn't allow cats, and all the shelters she'd contacted were full, according to the Facebook message sent on her behalf. They wondered if AlleyKattz could help.

Rosenthal got to work immediately in search of a foster parent for Kecha and arranged for what she suspected would be the black-and-white spotted cat's first veterinarian visit. She launched "Save Kecha" on the crowdfunding website YouCaring to help cover the costs.

By Thursday afternoon, the page was shared to Queens neighborhood groups across Facebook and had raised nearly $250. It also caught the attention of another cat-loving local, who has agreed to foster Kecha until AlleyKattz can find her a more permanent home.

"We run this rescue entirely on donations, so just to see that many people step up and help is incredibly heartwarming," Rosenthal said.

All donations will go toward Kecha's vet bill - which so far includes spaying, vaccines and FIV/FELV testing - and cat supplies, she said.

Rosenthal expects Kecha will be out of the vet and moved into her temporary home by Monday.

Lead photo courtesy of Jana Rosenthal/AlleyKattz Rescue.