SHE’LL MISS CAT
Owner sorry she had to give up Bx. cougar
Giving up her big cat came with even bigger heartache for the former owner of a Bronx cougar.
“I mean, she was a pet to me at the end of the day, so I’m still grieving about the whole situation,” said Miranda Rodriguez on Tuesday, one day after news broke of her predatory pet’s departure under the care of animal rescue authorities. “So I really don’t want to comment or anything about that.
“I just would like it if everyone would respect that at the end of the day, say it was still a pet to us, and and it was very hard for us to do that.”
The 80-pound, 11-month-old cougar — named Sasha — was turned over to animal rescue authorities last week by its owner and temporarily brought to the Bronx Zoo.
Animal-lover Rodriguez, who declined to identify the cougar’s co-owner, seemed surprised by all the attention generated in a borough where the Yankees typically grab the headlines this time of year.
“She’s in a better place, and that’s all we can ask for at this time,” added Rodriguez. “I’m an animal lover, that’s what I do ... I just want to grieve with my family. Like I said, she was like my family member.”
But the cougar’s departure left behind nervous borough residents and unfounded rumors about the big cat. While authorities provided few details about the cougar, Throgs Neck emerged Tuesday as a possible home for the beast during its time in New York.
“Imagine walking outside and seeing that?” said local resident Hammond Ells, 41. “I would have lost my mind.”
But Els and other neighbors acknowledged they never laid eyes on the cougar, an admission that did little to stop the speculation.
“I’ve heard about it secondhand,” said one middle-aged neighbor. “Surprised? I guess. I mean we’re in the middle of New York City. Nothing surprises me.”
A 22-year-old neighborhood man was shocked by questions about the cougar before posing a few of his own.
“Are you serious?” he asked. “Here? I never seen no cougars walking around here. How big was this cougar? Like a zoo cougar? That’s crazy.”
The cougar was removed from a Bronx home by state and federal officials when its owner realized the cat was getting too big for city life, officials said Monday.
Rodriguez, who intends to visit the departing cougar in its new home at an Arkansas animal sanctuary, declined to provide details about her co-owner and asked for some space as she came to grips with the fate of her pet. She’d hoped to avoid publicity.
“They told me that this would not happen,” said Rodriguez, adding that she did not live in the Bronx. “I wanted to keep it secluded and private. Any animal, it’s heartbreaking . ... We’re still processing, it’s hard enough for us at the moment.”
Asked what she missed about the cougar, Rodriguez offered a one-word reply: “Everything.”