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LAKEVIEW — After getting a notification that the front window of his shop had been shattered, Chris Gutierrez raced from his Lakeview home to the storefront, fearing the worst for the kittens living there. CatCade Cafe and Rescue, 624 W. Belmont Ave., had 31 cats inside when the window was smashed Wednesday night. Most were kittens, small and shy but curious, with no way to know the danger posed by the broken glass or the busy street outside. That’s why it was an overwhelming relief when Gutierrez arrived minutes after getting the call to find a dozen strangers in and outside the hybrid pet shelter and cafe, sweeping up broken glass and working to prevent the cats from escaping. Neighbors rushed to help before Gutierrez or his staff even arrived. By the end of the night, a dozen foster families had stepped up to temporarily take in every cat while the nonprofit recovers from the break-in. “It was an amazing thing to process and see,” Gutierrez told Block Club Thursday morning. “I’d hate to think what would have happened if those cats had gotten out. It was the community that literally saved lives.” Police were notified of the break-in around 9:20 p.m. Wednesday. The incident is being investigated as criminal damage to property, according to police. Investigators have not determined whether anyone entered the space or took anything. Gutierrez notified his co-founder, Shelly Casey, and the rest of the staff as soon as he received the alert. > View this post on Instagram When he arrived, the store was dark, but someone was already inside sweeping up glass. Outside, a crowd of roughly 15-20 people had gathered. The neighbors told Gutierrez they had seen people running away and realized the cats were in danger of escaping through the broken window. As Gutierrez’s staff arrived, the group worked to move the cats out of the lounge and secure them away from the broken window. Some neighbors even rushed home to grab pet carriers to help transport the cats. Staff members arrived in their pajamas, some bringing their partners to help. The emergency extended beyond the initial cleanup. With the nonprofit needing repairs before it could safely reopen, CatCade put out an urgent call for temporary foster homes. Within about an hour and a half, all 31 cats had been placed with foster families. About a dozen people took the cats in, many of them part of the rescue’s existing foster network. For Gutierrez, the response was a reminder of the close-knit community surrounding the venture, which opened in 2017 as a nonprofit cat rescue, cafe and lounge. Visitors pay an admission fee to spend time with cats living at the shelter while they await adoption, with proceeds helping cover the animals’ food, medical care and other rescue costs. The venture moved to its current location near Belmont Avenue and Broadway in 2024, after nearly seven years at its previous location farther west on Belmont. The CatCade has since continued its mission of connecting cats with permanent homes while giving visitors a place to spend time with them. Gutierrez, who grew up in Lakeview, said the neighborhood’s response to Wednesday’s break-in showed how much people care about the local nonprofit and the animals they support. “We live in a big city, and you kind of get the impression that everybody keeps to themselves and nobody wants to get into anybody else’s business,” he said. “But the truth is that Lakeview is a small community.” Virgil, a cat that is up for adoption at CatCade. Credit: Provided/CatCade As news of the break-in spread, neighbors posted online asking what had happened and whether the cats were safe. Others reached out directly or stopped by to offer help. “It’s one of those things you wouldn’t expect from a big city, but I feel more community here than I’ve ever felt anywhere else,” Gutierrez said. The incident also comes with a financial cost for the nonprofit. CatCade relies heavily on admission fees to fund its rescue work, and the closure means losing revenue while paying to secure and replace the damaged window. CatCade will remain closed at least through Friday and potentially into the weekend, Gutierrez said. He was waiting for a glass company to assess the damage Thursday. CatCade has set up a fundraiser on its website to help cover the cost of repairs and lost revenue. Any additional funds will go toward the medical care of cats in the rescue’s program, Gutierrez said. “Somebody smashed our window, and there was a mob of people helping,” he said. “They didn’t know if we were coming or not, and they were helping and sweeping up glass. You’d like to think that you would do something like that, but you couldn’t expect strangers to do something like that.” ______________________________________________________________________ ## **Support Local News!** **Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, **an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. 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