Categories: News, Schenectady County

More than two weeks after the fire that claimed four lives on Jay Street, a resident’s cat was found alive and will soon be reunited with her owner, police and officials said this morning.

The cat was spotted by firefighters Sunday evening at about 7 p.m. running out of 100-102 Jay St. The buildings have been undergoing demolition since late last week.

Workers at Latham Animal Hospital soon located that cat’s owner, Shantia Robinson, who was a resident of 100-102 Jay St.

Robertson, who has since moved to Georgia with her family, said today she was contacted about the cat late Sunday and she identified it through a Facebook photo.

Helping with the identification was the Facebook page Jay Street Missing Pets.

“I am so happy and I’m so grateful,” Robinson told The Daily Gazette by phone today. “You can’t even believe how grateful I am for the woman who posted that page.”

Sugar now joins Zeus the dog among the pets found alive in the burned out Jay Street buildings. Zeus was found in 100-102 Jay St. eight days after the blaze, spotted by firefighters and coaxed out with some pizza.

Zeus was returned to is own Staci Lydon minutes after being taken from the building. Lydon did not live in the building, but said Zeus was staying there with a co-worker.

100-102 Jay St. and 104 Jay St. were both destroyed after an early March 6 fire consumed the buildings and claimed the lives of four people. Seven people were injured and dozens displaced.

After finding Sugar Sunday evening, Schenectady firefighters delivered the exhausted and dehydrated calico cat to Latham.

Office manager Sara Eggelhoefer recalled today that firefighters recounted how Sugar slept through the ride to Latham and continued sleeping in the firefighter’s arms as they brought her in.

“When she came in she was dehydrated and obviously very hungry,” Eggelhoefer said. “We gave her food and fluid and she’s doing really well.”

The next step is reuniting Sugar with her owner.

Robinson lived on the third floor of 100-102 Jay St. with her two young children and their father. They’d been packed up to move the next morning to Georgia when the fire broke out.

She recalled believing the pounding on her door from her neighbor was another false alarm. They left Sugar behind.

They didn’t realize the seriousness of the situation until they got outside. The father of her kids tried to go back in to get Sugar, but responders prevented him from going back in.

She said they waited several days hoping Sugar would be found. With no word and no belongings left, the family moved on to Georgia.

Robinson said she is making the trip back to Schenectady later this week to reunite with her cat and bring Sugar to their new home near Atlanta.

Robinson said she can’t way to see Sugar again. “She is the sweetest cat,” Robinson said.