Saved from an Almost Certain Death on Interstate 280 in Newark, Conan Has Been Abandoned to Languish in a Shelter Because No One Will Offer Him a New Home

 Conan Was in Dire Straits

 

"Hunkered down on the median of a busy highway in the sweltering heat, Conan's life hung in the balance."

-- Megan Brinster of the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge Incorporated

Congested Newark during the morning rush hour is hardly any place for a human, let alone a footloose cat. Yet, that is precisely where an approximately eighteen-month-old black male with a prominent white spot on his chest named Conan found himself at 9 a.m. on August 12th. 

Unlike his human counterparts who were safe and sound inside their lightning-fast old jalopies with their protective steel carapaces, he was all alone, just fur, organs, and bones, hunkered down on the median at milepost thirteen on Interstate 280. It additionally was humid with the thermometer nearing the one-hundred degree mark on the Fahrenheit scale and he was bereft of both air conditioning and so much as a drop of water.

Even more distressingly, with the traffic whizzing by in all directions at breakneck speed all avenues of escape had been closed off to him. How long  that he had been stranded there is anybody's guess but most likely he had been tossed out of his previous owner's automobile under the cover of darkness.

It therefore is nothing short of amazing that he was not killed instantaneously by either his impact with the pavement or crushed to death underneath the wheels of one or more oncoming motorists. It is even more miraculous that he had the presence of mind and strength of body to have made it to the safety of the median while he was still in one piece.

It is distressing to contemplate what must have gone through his mind as he waited for the end to come. For instance, did he think of his previous owner and wonder what had prompted that individual to have treated him so murderously?

Or, did he concentrate all of his remaining mental energy on staying alive? The only thing for certain is that he surely was frightened out of his mind by all the motorists and the noise and pollutants being emitted by their chariots.

Conan Has Spent Months in a Cage...

Given the hour of the day and the volume of traffic, it most likely would have been too perilous for any of the commuters to have stopped and attempted a rescue but a few of them did the next best thing and that was to have notified the New Jersey State Police (NJSP). None of the details have been disclosed but somehow the officers not only were able to have gotten to Conan but to have safely corralled him as well. Perhaps he did not attempt to flee because there was not any place for him to have gone.

The officers in turn delivered him to Animal Control in Paterson, twenty-five kilometers north of Newark. Luckily for him, that agency almost immediately transferred him to the Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge Incorporated (RBARI) in Oakland, another seventeen kilometers northwest of Paterson. 

"Hunkered down on the median of a busy highway in the sweltering heat, Conan's life hung in the balance," the charity's Megan Brinster wrote August 13th on Facebook. (See "Trapped on Highway 280 -- Stray (sic) Cat's Near-Death Rescue.") "Conan's story could have ended in tragedy but because someone cared enough to act, he has a second chance."

An examination by RBARI's veterinarian revealed that he had come though his horrible ordeal with only a painful laceration above his left  eye. "Despite it all, Conan is gentle, shy, and so grateful for the kindness that saved him," Brinster summed up on Facebook.

That is the good news. The bad news is that three months later on Conan continues to languish in RBARI's shelter. Apparently nobody feels that he is worth adopting and that injustice is almost as cruel as what his previous owner did to him.

"Conan is the sweetest and gentlest boy you could ask for!" RBARI exclaimed September 13th on Petfinder. "While still somewhat timid, he is opening up very quickly at the shelter and would be an amazing companion to a quieter home." 

... but Recently He Was Moved to a Room with Other Cats

It is difficult to speak definitively but he apparently was confined to a cage during his first month or two at the shelter but recently he was moved into a room with other cats and that seems to have made a big difference in his outlook and behavior. "Once timid and reserved, he has blossomed as the result of his new freedom and (the) companionship of his mates and staffers. He (has) made a complete one-eighty and is now a total attention hog!" RBARI wrote October 25th on Petfinder. "He loves attention and pets so much that he will even 'bite' out hands to tell us he wants us to follow him or pet him more. He absolutely adores it when our staff or volunteers go in to say hi."

He additionally enjoys the fellowship of other cats and is said to be "interested" in dogs and all of that should have enhanced his chances of landing in a new home but, for whatever reason, that has not proven to be the case.

Like all humans who wind up behind bars, cats that are imprisoned at shelters are, for good reason, frightened to death. It therefore is perfectly understandable that they are timid and standoffish.

Revoltingly, millions of them are arbitrarily slandered and libeled each year as being either wild, dangerous, or unsocialized and then almost immediately dispatched to the devil. Those individuals who work at shelters, for Animal Control, and in law enforcement could not possibly be that stupid but when it comes to cats the objective of the game always has been to eradicate them as opposed to saving their lives.

As for Conan, it is impossible to speculate as to what the future holds in store for him. Although RBARI claims to be a no-kill facility, such shelters nevertheless still exterminate cats in droves. (See Cat Defender posts of July 29, 2010 and October 23, 2012 entitled, respectively, "The Benicia Vallejo Humane Society Is Outsourcing the Mass Killing of Kittens and Cats All the While Masquerading as a No-Kill Shelter" and "A Supposedly No-Kill Operation in Marblehead Betrays Sally and Snuffs Out Her Life Instead of Providing Her with a Home and Veterinary Care.")

At the time of Conan's rescue, one of RBARI's donors pledged to match every dollar donated for his care up to US$5,000 but given the exorbitant cost of veterinary care the charity most assuredly exhausted that amount months ago. So, where does that leave Conan?

Conan Deserves a Home, Not a Cage at a Shelter

Even those individuals unable to offer him a home could perhaps prolong his life and thus enhance his chances of one day being adopted by sponsoring him financially. It is almost superfluous to point out but it would be a diabolical crime of epic proportions if RBARI were to turn around and kill him after all that he has endured and overcome during his young and turbulent life.

Nevertheless, time is fleeting. The cold and rain of autumn have supplanted the heat and sunny days of summer. The leaves are mostly brown and dead on the ground and more hell is destined to follow in the wake of their sad demise.

The capitalistic media and the general public have conveniently forgotten that he even exists. That dire assessment of Conan's situation possibly could be even true of RBARI. It certainly does not appear to be doing very much in order to place him in a new home.

So, the most troubling question of all remains unanswered. Namely, will the charity permit him to see the arrival of another sweltering summer or is the cold outside destined to be a harbinger of the imminent arrival of an even harsher and totally unforgiving cold in the form of the Grim Reaper and from which there will not be any miraculous eleventh-hour reprieve like the one that he was granted on August 12th.

 It is almost superfluous to add but no arrest has been made in this case and none is expected. The law  enforcement community, shelters, and Animal Control do not even bother to so much as investigate this or any other cases of cruelty to cats and kittens.

Things have been that way forever and that is not about to change. (See Cat Defender post of September 6, 2025 entitled "Dumped on the Cajon Pass and Staring Imminent Death in the Face, Bugs Is Rescued at the Last Minute by a Compassionate and Utterly Fearless Hockey Mom.")

With that being the deplorable reality, the best that society can do is to treasure cats such as Conan who have somehow managed to survive such utterly despicable acts of cruelty. Regrettably, by allowing him to languish in a cage for months without a home RBARI can hardly be said to be fulfilling that mandate.

Photos: Ramapo-Bergen Animal Refuge Incorporated.