ASTORIA — A trio of NYPD officers rescued a feral cat off of a roof in Queens on Tuesday, after the feline — nicknamed Hunka Munka by a local caretaker — had been trapped there for six days.
The black-and-white cat had climbed to the rooftops of three buildings on 23rd Street near 31st Avenue last week, properties that have been empty since they were gutted by a fire earlier this month.
Tracy Levine, who feeds Hunka Munka and several other feral cats in a parking lot near her home nearby, said she noticed the 1-year-old kitty was missing after it didn't show up for its usual meals last Wednesday.
"She's always the first one on the scene for food," said Levine, who's been feeding Hunka Munka since she was a kitten and even had her spayed. "She was not there, and I just knew in my gut already that something was wrong."
Levine soon discovered that Hunka Munka had gone into the burnt-out buildings, which were boarded up late last week — trapping the cat, and making it impossible for Levine to attempt to rescue her.
Levine said she was forced to watch the cat pace the roofs of the buildings from her balcony around the block for several days, pining to be rescued.
"It's been horrendous," Levine said. "I could hear her howl all night."
She says her initial calls to the FDNY and police for help went unheeded. She was eventually able to get one of the building owners to use a ladder to put a trap with food on the roof in an attempt to lure Hunka Munka into it.
The skittish stray finally went into the trap early Tuesday morning, Levine said, but she wasn't sure how to get it down safely from the roof.
Photo credit: Tracy Levine
After another call, three police officers from the 114th Precinct arrived. One climbed a ladder to the roof, and used a rope to lower Hunka Munka in his cage to the two other officers waiting below, according to Levine and her photos of the rescue.
The 114th Precinct tweeted a photo of the officers with Hunka Munka on Tuesday, along with the hashtag "ITSWHATWEDO."
Levine called the compassionate officers "absolute heroes."
Hunka Munka is now at a veterinarian's office, where she's resting and getting fluids.
"She was okay, just skinny," she said.
The cat will be returned to its feral colony once it's recovered, Levine said.
