Antonio Garcia may have been homeless, but his heart was full of gold. Without a proper home for over 10 years, the homeless man had built a shack in a Chicago neighborhood, built out of scrap wood. He may have been invisible to most people, but to over 40 stray cats, Antonio was their savior.
Unable to save himself from a life on the streets, Antonio was able to keep the lonely cats happy and well fed. Kind-hearted neighbors that saw Antonio and his cats and would bring them food and well wishes— often having to remind Antonio that some of the food was for him too, as he couldn’t help but share with his kitty friends.
“If my cats are fed, my heart is full,” he would tell neighbors.
In January, a local business owner realized he hadn’t seen Antonio for a few days. Chicago weather in January is quite unforgiving and can be less than ideal for surviving outdoors. The worried man called the police. He asked them to perform a wellness check out of concern for Antonio’s health and safety in the bitter cold.
When authorities arrived, police officers found all the lonely cats in the alley.
But when they found Antonio, he had frozen to death at just 64 years old. Devastated by the horrible news, neighbors recalled the man’s love for his kitties.
“Even in the brutal cold, Antonio chose to stay outside. He would never leave his cats. He left this world surrounded by the friends he loved.” Leona Sepulveda-Less told PEOPLE.
A shrine celebrating Antonio’s kindness was quickly created by those who knew him and the love he gave “his” cats.
“Those cats were his family — they were all he had,” said Cynthia Doepke. Cynthia is an animal rescue worker who knew Antonio and had worked with him to trap, neuter and release many of the felines.
What better way to honor the kindhearted man than to help out his feline friends? What about a shelter and care program for his beloved cats? With Antonio gone, the kitties now had nobody looking out for them and could use some extra help.
A fundraiser was created to help with the costs of ongoing care. It has raised over $12,000 in just a couple months.
“We’re here to take care of what mattered most to him in life. It’s the kitties,” a friend said.
The cats were set up with heated water dishes, a privacy fence, food bowls and even a camera system to check up on them. Volunteers make sure the kitties are fed and safe, just like Antonio did. The cats are also now legally protected as a feral colony.
“Antonio was a genuine, selfless man who chose this life and made it his mission to love and care for these cats without a home,” Cynthia told PEOPLE. “How could we do any less?”
Antonio’s legacy lives on, and the stray cats that were his family will now be loved, fed and cared for— exactly what Antonio would have wanted.
“To me, the most important part of the story is there was this man who on the outside looked like he had nothing” Doepke said. “But he had a lot more than a lot of people do.”
“He is remembered.”
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