Man Dumps Malnourished Cat In Bucket Near Animal Shelter

CHINATOWN, NY — A malnourished cat was sealed in a bucket and abandoned near a Lower Manhattan animal shelter — the second time in as many months.

Police are searching for the heartless man who dumped a starving cat in a sealed bucket on the curb of Hester and Centre streets near the Animal Haven Shelter and fled, authorities said.

Workers with the non-profit were shocked Thursday to discover a cat was trapped inside the bucket near a public crash can and urged locals to be vigilant for similar containers, the organization said in an Instagram post.

"This poor kitty is in bad shape and, needless to say, is terrified," staff with the shelter wrote.

"We have contacted the police, but we're asking that everyone in the vicinity of our shelter in Soho please keep your eyes out for any suspicious buckets or containers like the ones in these photos."

But this isn't the fist time a starving cat was found in a bucket. In November, staff with Animal Haven discovered a bucket with cat inside near the shelter's back door. A worker noticed the cat's eye peeking out a hole in the bucket, which could have easily been thrown into a trash compactor, the organization wrote on Instagram at the time.

Police believe the same man dumped both buckets. It is unclear if the man dropping the buckets off intends for the animal shelter to find the cats.

Cops released surveillance footage of the man abandoning the second bucket.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

Photo and video courtesy of NYPD