{"id":347270,"date":"2026-09-15T11:42:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T11:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/347270\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T11:42:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T11:42:25","slug":"a-brooklyn-bodega-cat-was-stolen-and-a-community-has-rallied-to-try-to-find-him-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/347270\/","title":{"rendered":"A Brooklyn bodega cat was stolen \u2013 and a community has rallied to try to find him | New York"},"content":{"rendered":"

Owners of a New York City<\/a> bodega on Monday were holding out hope that they would be reunited with their store\u2019s kitten after a couple passing by the store days earlier appeared to abduct the cat in plain view of a surveillance camera and ignited an intense grassroots search effort.<\/p>\n

The plight of three-month-old Jabal began on Thursday morning in Brooklyn, when he went just outside the Eighth Street Mini Market where he lives as it opened for the day. A man walking alongside a woman passed the Park Slope market then picked up Jabal, and the pair took off as the kitten visibly squirmed, according to store surveillance video which the bodega\u2019s owner, Imad \u201cJimmy\u201d Innab, reviewed after he noticed the cat had gone missing.<\/p>\n

Dan Janzen, who lives across the street from the Eighth Street Mini Market and is one of its regular customers, said someone immediately ran after the couple and told them the kitten belonged to the bodega \u2013 but they were unmoved, stuffed Jabal into a bag and left with him anyway.<\/p>\n

As the New York Post<\/a> and the local CBS affiliate<\/a> soon reported, Innab and his family subsequently offered a $500, no questions asked reward for Jabal\u2019s safe return, which was announced on a poster<\/a>. Supporters of the bodega also canvassed the streets of Park Slope for Jabal while the neighborhood\u2019s forum on the Reddit<\/a> platform provided updates on the search efforts.<\/p>\n

One thread dedicated to Jabal\u2019s disappearance had a photo of the couple who took the kitten and was titled, \u201cAnyone Know These Two?\u201d It generated about 1,000 upvotes \u2013 which indicate Reddit users\u2019 approval of a thread \u2013 and more than 240 comments, with many aiming to help reunite Jabal with the Innabs.<\/p>\n

Another thread titled<\/a> \u201cStolen Bodega Cat?!?\u201d also called attention to Jabal\u2019s catnapping, along with the news media coverage, which publicized the shocking surveillance footage of the kitten being brazenly snatched.<\/p>\n

There was palpable optimism that the campaign had paid dividends by Monday, when Janzen \u2013 speaking on behalf of Innab\u2019s store \u2013 said the bodega had received a call from someone claiming to know who had Jabal. That person said Jabal would be brought back to the store from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bushwick later on Monday, according to both Janzen and Innab.<\/p>\n

But as the store closed on Monday night, Jabal had not been brought back to the Eighth Street Mini Market, according to an employee at the store. Employees at the bodega said they had been in touch all day with New York<\/a> police and had reason to believe officers would ultimately bring the kitten to the store.<\/p>\n

New York police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n

Janzen at one point on Monday was with Innab eagerly awaiting the bodega owner\u2019s reunion with Jabal. \u201cAs much as we love the kitten, we love him more,\u201d Janzen said of Innab. \u201cWe were rallying around him to keep his hopes up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Innab on Monday said he had been particularly affected by Jabal\u2019s snatching because the Eighth Street Mini Market\u2019s prior bodega cat, Victoria, had died in June after living there for 17 years. Innab took in Jabal to succeed Victoria.<\/p>\n

Bodega cats<\/a> are deeply embedded in the fabric of New York City, serving to help keep vermin under control while also acting as living mascots for the stores where they reside. They can be seen lounging among store offerings or roaming along the freezer cases \u2013 among assorted other activities \u2013 in pictures on certain widely followed social media accounts, including @bodegacatsofnewyork<\/a> on Instagram.<\/p>\n

Janzen on Monday made it a point to say that Innab refused to entertain the thought of not getting Jabal back. As Janzen put, Innab \u201calways said, \u2018I have a feeling he\u2019s coming back.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Innab said the way the neighborhood where his store had stood for 39 years supported him after Jabal\u2019s abduction \u201cmeans everything\u201d to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe people are very beautiful \u2013 very good \u2013 here,\u201d Innab said of Park Slope. \u201cAnd I thank everybody who tried to help me.\u201d<\/p>\n