{"id":346320,"date":"2026-09-14T13:52:14","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T13:52:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346320\/"},"modified":"2026-09-14T13:52:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T13:52:14","slug":"beloved-nyc-bodega-cat-stolen-from-store-as-kittys-fans-have-their-claws-out-for-the-petnappers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/346320\/","title":{"rendered":"Beloved NYC bodega cat stolen from store as kitty’s fans have their claws out for the petnappers"},"content":{"rendered":"

A beloved bodega cat was snatched from his Brooklyn home<\/a> by a pair of heartless thieves \u2014 prompting neighbors to spring into action to track him down, and his distraught owner to offering hundreds of dollars for the adorable kitten\u2019s return.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the whole neighborhood is talking about it,\u201d said one of the many Park Slope residents lamenting the loss of Jabal, a 3-month-old kitten snatched from the 8th St. Mini Mart in Park Slope Thursday.<\/p>\n

Jabal\u2019s owner, Imad Innab, was setting up shop around 7 a.m., when the white cat with yellow eyes briefly slipped out the front door to explore the city sidewalk.<\/p>\n

Jabal the bodega cat has been missing since he was taken Thursday. Courtesy of Imad Innab<\/p>\n

But after a while Innab noticed he hadn\u2019t seen Jabal around, and when he checked outside the cat was nowhere to be found.<\/p>\n

A look through security footage quickly revealed a culprit \u2014 around 7:18 a.m., a man and a woman had scooped up Jabal and made off with the cat.<\/p>\n

That prompted a group of local customers \u2014 many of whom looked forward to visits<\/a> with Jabal during their daily deli run \u2014 to take to the streets in search of the kitty, with one even managing to track down the catnappers carrying Jabal in Prospect Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe saw them and he talked to them, and he says \u2018You stole the cat, you stole the cat, the cat belonged to the store. It\u2019s not a stray cat,’\u201d Innab told The Post.<\/p>\n

Imad Innab holding the missing poster he put up for Jabal after he was snatched from 8th St. Mini Mart on Thursday. Michael Nagle for NY Post<\/p>\n

The culprits taking off with Jabal after being caught in security footage on Thursday morning. Obtained by NY Post<\/p>\n

But it was no-good \u2014 the couple stuffed Jabal into their bag and took off.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lady took the cat in her book bag and went to different direction and the man did the same thing,\u201d Innab said. \u201cHe went to the other direction and the [customer] was following them too. In the meantime, I was calling the police.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite identifying the culprits, Innab decided not to press charges \u2014 but did plaster their photos on flyers across town offering a $500 \u201cNo questions asked\u201d reward.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust give it back you know? He was living his life here,\u201d Innab said, lamenting the catnappers\u2019 intentions. \u201cThese people, they have it for like a couple of hours or something, and then just put in the street. Because they can\u2019t even feed themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jabal basking in his favorite perch, a cardboard couch at the deli. Courtesy of Imad Innab<\/p>\n

Jabal\u2019s couch sits empty in the days after he was catnapped from the deli. Michael Nagle for NY Post<\/p>\n

Jabal\u2019s taking struck a particular chord for Innab \u2014 his old cat, Victoria, had ruled the roost at 8th St. Mini Mart for 17 years until she died three months ago. Jabal was the new addition<\/a> to the family to take Victoria\u2019s beloved place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a nice home for it,\u201d said Innab\u2019s son, 27-year-old Moe. \u201cHe\u2019d be on my dad\u2019s lap all the time, and I was excited to see it every time I came. My sisters named it. So it hits home.\u201d<\/p>\n

But now Jabal\u2019s favorite perch \u2014 a cardboard couch in the deli \u2014 sits empty while he\u2019s lost in the big city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A beloved bodega cat was snatched from his Brooklyn home by a pair of heartless thieves \u2014 prompting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":346321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[275,98,6123,7372,57,9,56,63,65,64,8005,58],"class_list":["post-346320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-bodega","tag-brooklyn","tag-cats","tag-kidnappings","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-park-slope","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=346320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/346320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/346321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=346320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=346320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=346320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}