BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — Sheshe has found a new home.
The cat that had been locked for weeks inside a shuttered Brooklyn candy store after the business was evicted went home with its new owner Tuesday.
Sheshe lived in Jimmy’s Candy Store at 406 Tompkins Ave. for years, according to business owner James “Jimmy” Leary and his daughter, Deborah Leary.
The Learys found their former candy store crawling with roaches and littered with cans of cat food when they gained access to it on Monday. But they were relieved to be reunited with the cat the following day.
“I was so happy,” Deborah Leary said Tuesday morning, adding that she cried upon seeing the cat.
The store closed on May 27 when Leary was evicted following a court ruling in favor of the building’s new deed holder, 406 Tompkins Equity LLC.
Sheshe had remained inside after the eviction, the Learys said. She was removed from the store last week, according to a representative for the landlord.
Sources confirmed to DNAinfo on Friday that Sheshe was taken to a no-kill animal organization and received routine veterinary care.
She was in good condition, good spirits and looked to have been eating regularly, sources said.
Court documents indicated that landlord representatives had been caring for the store’s cat since the eviction, and a June 12 court order directed that she be returned to the Learys.
Text messages beginning June 29 between a landlord representative and Deborah Leary show attempts from both parties seeking to make arrangements to give the Learys access to the store.
The family gained entry on Monday to collect their belongings and said it was the first time they'd accessed the store since May 27.
Once inside, the Learys and family friends said they were shocked to find the store’s backroom strewn with garbage and open cat food tins, which attracted dozens of roaches.
A worker who said he was sent to open the store Tuesday declined to comment on the cat and DNAinfo New York's request for comment to a representative of the building's landlord, 406 Tompkins Equity LLC, went unanswered.
John Perez, a friend of Jimmy Leary who delivered weekly papers to the store, agreed to permanently take care of the cat, and retrieved Sheshe from the family Tuesday afternoon.
Sheshe had always lived at the store and not at the Learys’ home, the family said.
Now, she will stay at Perez’s Staten Island home with his family’s cat and two dogs.
“She’ll be taken care of,” Perez said as he cradled her Tuesday.
He added that during his visits to Jimmy's Candy Store, Sheshe would always run to him and put her paw on his cheek to get his attention.
“She’s a good cat," he said. "She’s real lovable."
