Long Island tree crash traps 37 cats in Westbury home

A Long Island tree crash left a Westbury home badly damaged Monday night and trapped 37 cats inside after a 70-year-old tree fell through the house during intense storms. The tree hit the Oakdale Drive home around 9 p.m., turning an ordinary storm emergency into a frantic rescue effort for one family and a house full of animals.

Homeowner Wendy Kimball said the falling tree came perilously close to her brother, who had been napping in bed at the time. She said he is both a stroke patient and a cancer patient, and that he was grazed by the tree as it came down. The family got out of the house, and Kimball’s brother suffered only minor injuries. But the larger concern quickly became the cats still inside the damaged home.

Kimball said she fosters the cats so they can be rehabilitated, and she began reaching out to rescue groups almost immediately. Animal rescuer John Debacker joined the effort and shared photos and videos from inside the wreckage as he searched for surviving cats. He later said that roughly two dozen of the animals were still inside after the house was ruled too dangerous to enter.

Local officials said the home could not be occupied. Town of North Hempstead spokesperson Umberto Mignardi said the property was considered unsafe and that going inside could put lives at risk. He added that the town was waiting for an engineer’s report from the homeowners before deciding what kind of access, if any, could be allowed. That assessment will determine how rescuers can safely get back inside for the remaining cats.