Brooklynites liberate suffering stray cat from Cuba

Brooklynites liberate suffering stray cat from Cuba
BY LISA L. COLANGELO NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, December 7, 2015,

A scrappy kitten that once scrounged food from a Havana dumpster is now
living the good life in Park Slope after capturing the heart of a
Brooklyn couple on a Thanksgiving trip to Cuba.

But the journey of Jynxie Havanita — as the feline is now known — from
Cuba to the U.S. was anything but simple. Douglas Adams and Matt
Beaugrand spent three hectic days cutting through the regime's red tape
and juggling airplane flights to get her home.

It started with a trip to Cuba as part of a cultural exchange, something
Adams had been wanting to do for years.

"I grew up in Florida and Cuba was always sort of a mystery," said
Adams, 47, chief operating officer of the Waterfront Alliance. "I really
wanted to go and see for myself what it was like versus what we were
taught here."

Despite easing tensions between the Communist nation and the U.S.,
travel is still restricted. Adams and Beaugrand booked their trip
through the human rights group Global Exchange and they spent days
soaking up the island nation's music, architecture and breathtaking
scenery, as well as visits to schools to other institutions.

While walking near their Havana hotel, the spunky orange kitten trotted
out from behind a dumpster and approached them.

"She had big eyes and was meowing her little head off," said Beaugrand,
35, senior project manager with First Protocol, a corporate events firm.
"It was as cute as it sounds. She was very comfortable with us."

Adams bought some gelato to feed the hungry kitten while Beaugrand kept
an eye on her.

"She was the friendliest feral I had ever seen," said Adams.

They continued to check on her for the next two days, bringing her
leftovers or any other food they could find.

But on Thanksgiving eve, they were greeted by a horrifying sight.

The lively kitten was now lethargic and covered with tar from the
dumpster site.

They knew leaving her there was a death sentence.

"My heart broke," said Beaugrand. "I just wrapped her in a towel and put
her in my backpack."

Scrubbing the sticky tar off her fur was the least of their problems.
Getting an animal out of the country was no easy feat. And even with
approvals, their chartered flight did not allow animals.

Enter Leslie Balog, a Global Exchange employee who lives in Cuba, who
helped them navigate the tricky world of paperwork and find
veterinarians so Jinx could get her shots and be cleared for travel.

Since their credit cards were useless in Cuba, the couple pooled their
cash so Beaugrand could fly with the kitten to Montreal and then to New
York.

After 14 hours of traveling. they made it back to Brooklyn the evening
of Nov. 28.

Since then, Jinx has been exploring her new home and cuddling with
Beaugrand. Once she gets a veterinarian's clearance, she can meet Adam's
cat named Marley.

"I think about how terrible her situation was and how happy she is now,"
said Beau grand. "This was just a few days of our life. I wouldn't
change that."

Source: Brooklynites liberate suffering stray cat from Cuba - NY Daily
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http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/brooklynites-liberate-suffering-stray-cat-cuba-article-1.2457258