Neighbors Helped Get 31 Cats to Safety After Window Was Smashed at Chicago's Catcade
A smashed front window at Catcade Cafe and Rescue in Lakeview left 31 cats at risk inside the storefront. Neighbors, staff and foster families moved so quickly that every cat was placed somewhere safe within about an hour and a half.
Chris Gutierrez, co-founder of Catcade Cafe and Rescue, said he rushed from his Lakeview home after getting an alert that the front window of the nonprofit's shop at 624 W. Belmont Ave. had been shattered Wednesday night. Inside were 31 cats, most of them kittens, and the danger was immediate: broken glass at the front of the space, and a busy street just outside.
By the time Gutierrez arrived, he found that neighbors had already stepped in. People were inside and outside the storefront, cleaning up shattered glass and helping make sure no cats slipped through the damaged opening. In the clip below, Gutierrez reflects on that response and what it meant for the cats and the rescue.
A crowd gathered before the rescue team got there
Police were notified around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday, and the incident is being investigated as criminal damage to property. Investigators had not determined whether anyone got inside or took anything.
Gutierrez said he contacted co-founder Shelly Casey and the rest of the Catcade staff as soon as he got the alert. When he reached the shop, the space was dark, but someone was already sweeping glass inside. Outside, roughly 15 to 20 people had gathered.
Neighbors told him they had seen people running away and understood that the cats could escape through the broken window. As staff members arrived, the group worked together to move the cats out of the lounge area and secure them farther from the front of the store.
Some neighbors even ran home to get pet carriers so the cats could be transported safely. Staff showed up in pajamas, and some brought their partners along to help. Gutierrez said the scale of the response was remarkable, especially because many of the people who stepped in did not know whether the owners or staff were on the way.
Foster homes opened up fast
Getting the cats through the first moments was only part of the problem. Catcade needed repairs before it could safely reopen, so the nonprofit put out an urgent call for temporary foster homes.
The response came just as quickly as the cleanup effort. Within about an hour and a half, all 31 cats had been placed with foster families. About a dozen people took them in, many from the rescue's existing foster network.
That quick network of help mattered because Catcade is more than a cafe. The organization opened in 2017 as a nonprofit cat rescue, cafe and lounge. Visitors pay an admission fee to spend time with the cats while they wait for adoption, and that money helps cover food, medical care and other rescue expenses.
For Catcade, the goal was not only to protect the cats in the moment, but also to keep the rescue's wider work going while the storefront was out of commission.
A neighborhood response that matched the mission
Gutierrez said the episode underscored how much support surrounds the rescue in Lakeview. Catcade moved to its current location near Belmont Avenue and Broadway in 2024 after spending nearly seven years at an earlier Belmont address farther west. Since then, it has continued pairing cats with permanent homes while offering visitors a place to spend time with them.
As word spread, neighbors posted online asking what had happened and whether the cats were safe. Others reached out directly or stopped by to offer help. Gutierrez, who grew up in Lakeview, said the response reminded him that the neighborhood can feel close-knit despite being part of a large city.
The damage also created a financial strain. Catcade relies heavily on admission fees, so closing the space means losing revenue while also paying to secure the storefront and replace the window. Gutierrez said the rescue expected to remain closed at least through Friday, and possibly into the weekend, while waiting for a glass company to assess the damage on Thursday.
Catcade set up a fundraiser on its website to help cover repair costs and lost income. Gutierrez said any money raised beyond those needs would go toward medical care for cats in the rescue's program.
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