There’s something so intriguing about abandoned buildings. It’s amazing to imagine the past of a building and how many people have walked through the area. While there are many abandoned buildings in New York City, only one has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Roosevelt Island’s Smallpox Hospital was once an important institution that treated smallpox patients. Now abandoned, the island has been taken over by feral cats.

Looking at it now, it's tough to believe that this was once a 100-bed hospital that helped to prevent major smallpox outbreaks in New York City.
Earnest B/Wikimedia Commons
The hospital opened in 1856 and treated smallpox patients until it closed in 1875. It served as a training hospital for several years until it was abandoned. The property is now undergoing stabilization to ensure safety, but it will one day be open to the public.
Roosevelt Island has now become a haven not for smallpox patients, but for feral cats. The cats were breeding uncontrollably for years, but in 2004, a non-profit was started to care for them.
mirsasha/Flickr
Originally, the cats had free run of the island and often hung out around the hospital. Many of them are now safely housed in the Roosevelt Island Cat Sanctuary.
Naotake Murayama/Flickr

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Feral cats may seem harmless, but they cause great destruction to local wildlife. Left to breed uncontrollably, their numbers can increase dramatically.
mirsasha/Flickr
The Wildlife Freedom Foundation catches the cats in humane traps and sterilizes them so that they can no longer multiply.
Some of the cats eventually tame up with love and care, in which case they can be adopted out into indoor homes. They'll get a new lease on life as pets!
Rossana Ceruzzi/Google Maps
Others remain at the sanctuary for life. The sanctuary currently houses 22 cats.
Wildlife Freedom Foundation

For more information on the Wildlife Freedom Foundation, visit their website or Facebook. You can learn more about feral cats from Alley Cat Allies.

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