Owners of a Brooklyn bodega are hoping for the safe return of their kitten after the animal was reportedly taken in broad daylight by a passing couple, prompting a community-driven search effort. The incident occurred on Thursday morning outside the Eighth Street Mini Market in the Park Slope neighborhood, where three-month-old Jabal, the store's resident cat, disappeared.

Surveillance footage reviewed by the bodega’s owner, Imad “Jimmy” Innab, shows a man and woman walking past the store as it opened and then picking up the visibly struggling kitten before leaving the scene. A bystander reportedly confronted the pair to explain that the cat belonged to the bodega, but the couple proceeded to place Jabal in a bag and walked away before disappearing from view.

Regular customer and neighbor Dan Janzen described how individuals chased after the couple to recover the kitten but were unsuccessful. In response, Innab and his family offered a $500 no-questions-asked reward for Jabal’s return, while local residents and supporters canvassed the surrounding Park Slope area. Updates and discussions about the search quickly spread on a neighborhood Reddit forum, where posts seeking information about the couple and the missing kitten garnered significant attention, including nearly 1,000 upvotes and hundreds of comments.

By Monday, the bodega reported receiving a call from someone claiming to know Jabal’s whereabouts, with indications that the kitten might be returned from Bushwick later that day. However, as of the store’s closing on Monday night, Jabal had not yet been reunited with his owners. Bodega employees remained in contact with New York police, who were believed to be involved and expected to eventually return the animal. Officials did not immediately comment on the matter.

Innab shared that Jabal’s disappearance was especially distressing due to the recent loss of the store’s previous cat, Victoria, who had lived at the market for 17 years before passing away in June. Jabal had been brought in as a replacement and was scheduled to be microchipped in the near future, a measure that would have linked the kitten to the store through scannable identification.

Cats have long been a familiar presence in New York City bodegas, serving both as pest control and as mascots for their communities. Images of such store cats are popular on social media, highlighting their role in the daily life of the city’s neighbourhood shops. For the Eighth Street Mini Market and its supporters, the search for Jabal remains a pressing concern.