A three-month-old white bodega cat named Jabal vanished from Eighth Street Mini Mart in Park Slope on Thursday morning after slipping out the door while owner Imad Innab was setting up the store, and he hasn't been seen at the shop since. Surveillance footage shows a couple walking off with the kitten, who has a small smudge of brown fur on his nose, at 7:18 a.m. that day. Innab says he last saw Jabal at that exact time before the animal disappeared.
The theft was first reported by Gothamist, which detailed how the man in the pair was seen holding Jabal at arm's length as the two walked away from the store. Innab, who goes by Jimmy and has run the bodega for 39 years, told the outlet that Jabal touched his heart the moment he first saw him. The 60-year-old got the kitten from a friend and named him after the Arabic word for mountain, choosing the name in honor of his daughter.
A Regular Spots the Couple in Prospect Park
Ken Park, a 69-year-old customer, later spotted the same couple with Jabal inside Prospect Park and asked them directly to return the kitten. According to the same Gothamist report, the couple refused, and the cat appeared not to be in distress when Park saw him. Jason Miller, a 50-year-old longtime customer and long-distance trucker, said the whole neighborhood wants Jabal back and now keeps a picture of the kitten on his phone.
“It's unconscionable,” Miller said, describing the theft as especially cruel given how deeply Innab cares for his animals, per the same account. Neighbors have since posted signs around Park Slope depicting the couple and Jabal in hopes someone recognizes them. Nina Allen, another resident in her 70s, said she had never before heard of a pet simply being stolen off the street.
A Bodega Owner Who's Lost a Cat Before
This isn't the first time Innab has said goodbye to a shop cat. His previous bodega cat, Victoria, died after 17 years of service to the store, according to the report. On the day Jabal disappeared, Innab was outside displaying newspapers and later offered Miller a Gatorade on the house, which Miller insisted on paying for anyway, a small moment of normalcy amid the search for the missing kitten.
Per a statement given to the report, an NYPD spokesperson confirmed that Innab declined to file a formal police report because he does not want to press charges against the couple. That decision leaves the search largely in the hands of neighbors distributing flyers and watching for the pair around the neighborhood.
A Familiar Pattern in Brooklyn's Bodega Cat World
Jabal's disappearance echoes at least two earlier catnappings in the borough. In August 2022, an eight-month-old bodega cat named Boka was stolen from outside Green Olives Deli & Grill on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope, only to be returned a week later after surveillance video went viral and a neighbor persuaded the captor to give the cat back, according to BKMAG. And in May 2025, a five-month-old Persian bodega cat named Snowy was taken from Prince Deli on Cortelyou Road in Flatbush, prompting flyers, a reward offer, and a public search before she was safely returned weeks later, as Hoodline previously reported.
The Legal Gray Zone Bodega Cats Live In
Cases like Jabal's sit inside a broader legal tangle facing New York's shop cats. Under NYC Health Code Section 81.25, keeping live animals inside retail food establishments is technically prohibited, with narrow exceptions for service animals and fish in aquariums, according to Secret NYC. Health inspectors can fine store owners between $200 and $350 for the violation, but many owners accept that cost because citations for active rodent infestations can run well over $1,000.
An estimated 30% to 40% of the city's more than 10,000 bodegas keep a resident cat, adding up to a working feline population of roughly 4,000 as of this year, per Animals Matter. Advocacy group Bodega Cats of New York gathered more than 14,000 signatures in 2025 on a petition proposing a Voluntary Bodega Cat Certification Program to set care standards and eliminate health code fines for participating stores.
What Pet Theft Actually Means Under the Law
On the criminal side, stealing property valued at $1,000 or less — including companion pets — is generally prosecuted as petit larceny under New York Penal Law Section 155.25, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, according to Criminal Defense Lawyer. State lawmakers have introduced Assembly Bill A5847, which would reclassify the theft of any companion dog or cat from an owner's home or property as fourth-degree grand larceny, a Class E felony, regardless of the animal's monetary value.
At the city level, Council Member Keith Powers introduced Int. 1471, the Bodega Cat Bill, in November 2025 to amend the health code to allow shop cats in food retail businesses while funding free vaccination and spay/neuter programs, according to Our Town. In March, Council Members Harvey Epstein and Julie Menin formed the council's first Animal Welfare Caucus to push forward that bill and other pet welfare measures.
For now, none of that legislation changes the situation facing Jimmy Innab and his Eighth Street Mini Mart regulars, who are relying on flyers and neighborhood eyes rather than a police report to bring Jabal home.
