You can call him “the fuzz.”
A cat named Martin is the newest member of the 60th Precinct. Officers found the tabby at their Coney Island station house, but instead of dropping him off at the nearest animal shelter, they took him in and convinced the precinct’s top cop to adopt the furball as their collective pet. Now Martin cuddles up to police in their down time, according to the precinct’s commanding officer.
“He cheers up the officers after their shifts. All I know is I’m an animal person and the cops approached me about keeping him,” said Deputy Inspector William Taylor. “But I fell in love with the little guy.”
Martin — named for Police Officer Martin DiCostanza, who advocated to kept him at the station — has free reign of the building, but his command center is Taylor’s office, where he regularly greets the top cop in the mornings, curled up in his office chair. Taylor foots the bill for food and treats, but officers had to get the mouser fixed, micro-chipped, and up-to-date on his shots — and deal with the litter box, Taylor said.
“I told them, ‘I have two cats at home and two dogs, and I don’t have a problem with it, but we gotta get a litter box and you have to clean out the littler box. I’ll even foot the expense the food, the water, the treats — but I’m not cleaning out the litter box,’ ” he said.
Felines are no strangers to police station houses. Manhattan’s 33rd Precinct announced the death of beloved tabby Popo to much fanfare last year. Some precinct’s have resident mousers to help with pest problems, but rodents are not a big issue in the 60th Precinct’s home base — and instead Martin has become a mascot, according to Taylor.
“He runs all over the place,” said Taylor. “Everyone just loves the little guy.”
