BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A bodega cat named Fulton that was choked and slammed against a wall at a Brooklyn Chinese restaurant has found a new home, according to officials and the ASPCA.
The one-year-old feline was taken by Salah Zaid from the basement of Seven & One Deli & Grocery on the corner of Fulton Street and Throop Avenue in March, as first reported by the Daily News.
Zaid grabbed the cat and began to beat it on the sidewalk near the New People Kitchen take-out restaurant, police said.
When the animal escaped, it ran into the eatery at 1505 Fulton St. near Throop Avenue, where Zaid chased it and attacked it again, court documents show.
Zaid picked the cat up, threw it twice against a wall and hurled it against the counter, prosecutors said.
He then tossed the cat through a hole in the Plexiglass window into the restaurant’s kitchen, an employee told police.
The male cat suffered a hemorrhage in the eye, a puncture wound to his tongue, bruising to his gums, tongue and lips, swelling to his tail and fluid in the abdomen, among other injuries, according to court documents.
Zaid, 28, faces charges of animal cruelty and is due back in court on May 11, records show.
The ASPCA describes Fulton as a "very sweet, outgoing boy who enjoys meeting new people." Photo credit: ASPCA
The NYPD brought the cat to the ASPCA on March 25, where he spent time in the animal hospital’s intensive care unit and was transferred to the Animal Recovery Center for ongoing care, according to the agency.
Seven & One Deli worker Ahmed Hussein, 28, said he transferred the cat's care to the ASPCA. He had wanted to take the feline — originally called Nancy — to his Brooklyn home, but isn't allowed to keep pets in his apartment, he said.
"Especially since what happened to him, I wanted to take care of him more and give him the care he deserved. What happened was sad," Hussein said.
He didn't want to bring the cat back to the bodega because of the incident, he added.
"It's too painful to put him in the same place where it happened, I don't want to see him there in that basement."
The cat has since been re-named Fulton, the ASPCA said, and is a “very sweet, outgoing boy who enjoys meeting new people.”
Just one day after being put up for adoption, Fulton went home with a Queens family on Tuesday, according to the agency.
"Thanks to the NYPD and ASPCA staff, Fulton’s sad story has a very happy ending. However, there are still many wonderful cats looking for loving, safe homes at the ASPCA Adoption Center," the organization said in a statement.
