Hell’s Kitchen Heroes: Neighbors Band Together to Rescue Abandoned Bodega Cat Leila

A bodega cat left alone inside a closed down deli for more than five weeks was saved by a band of Hell’s Kitchen neighbors who rallied to her rescue on Monday afternoon.

Nearby residents began to notice over the past several days that the cat, called Leila, was inside Citra Gourmet Deli (formerly Clinton Gourmet Market) at 648 10th Avenue (bw W45/46th St). They got organized through the Hell’s Kitchen Neighbors Facebook group, and by Monday afternoon had plotted a rescue operation.

And in a purrfect ending, Ben Lagman is now caring for Leila and plans to fully adopt her. He is asking for support to pay for her medical bills through a GoFundMe campaign .

“My main intent initially was to foster this cat until it found a new home,” Ben said, “but within 24 hours of me bringing it home it went from hiding under my bathroom sink to making biscuits in the bed, and already started getting sad when I leave, so I want to take care of it for as long as I can, because it’s just become a part of me.”

Ben and a “heroic” team including neighbors including Tiff Winton and Mirjana Vicari picked up the cat at 4pm from the former deli owners, who agreed to surrender it.

Tiff saw the original post on Facebook on Sunday, and headed to the scene with neighbor Kim. They were about to stick food through a broken window when a man with keys let Tiff into the deli, she told us. After communicating with him throughout the night, the man, who they presumed to be the deli’s former owner, agreed to surrender the cat on Monday afternoon.

The deli owners said that they had been feeding Leila once a day. Mirjana, who owns and operates Tilly’s Walks dog-walking service, asked why they hadn’t moved her to another deli location they own in Chelsea, and the owner told her: “I couldn’t pick up the cat, it likes to scratch.”

Ben said conditions inside the deli were less than ideal: “There were trash bags everywhere, there was broken glass on the floor.”

The group of neighbors took Leila to Heart of Chelsea Veterinary Group’s Hell’s Kitchen outpost around the corner. She was dehydrated and had ear mites and a previous skull fracture. She also has no teeth.

Ben, who has lived in Hell’s Kitchen since 2018, said he was amazed by the heartfelt support from neighbors for the cat.

“It’s moments like these where I find people have that sense of kindness and wholesomeness that you’d find in a small town,” Ben said. “It almost sometimes makes me want to stay here for the rest of my life.”

Tiff said Leila is the ninth stray cat she and Kim have saved in the neighborhood. “My last rescue was a sick cat named Rose and people kept dropping off food, toys, treats with my doorman,” she said. “Such support!”

“The amount of love and community — I mean for everybody to show up like that for this little cat that nobody knew,” Mirjana said, “it was just really special. I feel very proud to be a part of the Hell’s Kitchen community.”

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