Mud-covered kitty rescued after shelter break-in

Cat Town, the beloved cat cafe and adoption shelter in Oakland, suffered a break-in Thursday night, but there was a silver lining: A dramatic cat rescue.

The intruder was captured on video throwing a brick through a window and entering the shelter at 1:22 a.m., said Ann Dunn, executive director of Cat Town:

“He was trying to get into the cafe next door.”

Cat Town is an adoption center next door to a cafe, “which is what makes us a cat cafe,” Dunn said. RAWR Coffee Bar is the entry point for Cat Town, a nonprofit cat rescue organization.

Workers at the shelter found a boarded-up window when they reported to work at 7 a.m. Friday, Dunn said. She said police responded within minutes of the break-in and arranged for the window to be boarded up.

The suspect didn’t get anything, but two cats escaped through the broken window, Dunn said. One cat is still missing, but a dramatic rescue restored the other cat to the adoption center.

Dunn said:

“As soon as we found out about the break-in Thursday morning, we went next door to the construction project next door and told them we had a missing cat.”

About two hours later, a worker from the project showed up with the mud-caked, soaking wet cat in his arms.

Dunn said:

“He got bitten trying to rescue her, but he persisted.”

The cat, a six-month-old black and white tuxedo cat, had wedged herself into a corner, but the worker was able to get her out.

Dunn said:

“She was so muddy, I didn’t even realize what he (the worker) was carrying when he showed up.”

Unlike the construction worker, the cat was unharmed and has happily rejoined the approximately 23 other cats at the shelter. Cat Town has about 90 cat clients at present, Dunn said; the others are with foster parents.

Another cat is missing, but that cat is fearful and it’s not a good idea for members of the public to join in the search being conducted by Cat Town staffers, Dunn said.

The nonprofit now must raise money to replace the windows, which are vulnerable to another break-in, Dunn said. Donations can be made on the Cat Town website at https://www.cattownoakland.org/.