A gray tabby named Sprout was catnapped by two heartless thieves during a Union Square adoption event last weekend.
Sprout’s rescue group is offering a $1,500 reward for the feline’s safe return after the kitten, just four months old, was nabbed by two women.
The catnap took place when one suspect allegedly cut the cable ties securing the cage. The woman then thrust her hand inside the cage and whisked the kitty away in a quilted blue shoulder bag.
The woman with the purloined pussycat then disappeared into the crowd.
The other suspect, accompanied by a young boy who was intermittently eating an ice cream cone and crying, split from her companion and boarded a city bus.
“I want somebody to bring us the cat and we will give them $1,500, no questions asked,” said a distraught Pat Irizarry, founder and president of the non-profit rescue group, The Fabulous Feline.
Sprout can be dropped off anonymously at any veterinary office, she said.
“There are no cameras at veterinary offices,” Irizzary told the Post.
The cat has been microchipped and is easily identified. Irizarry is also willing to meet someone in person at any veterinary office.
The theft marred last Sunday’s Petco Love adoption event, Paws in the Park. The Fabulous Feline, one of around 20 local rescue groups, showcased 11 cats available for adoption.
Cats feel secure in enclosed spaces, so the cages were mostly covered with sheets and blankets. But Irizarry said two witnesses watched the suspects work together to capture the 4-pound kitten.
“I feel like these women had a plan and carried it out, no problem,” Irizzary said. “They blocked the view of the cage.”
One person claims they overheard the women speaking in Spanish, saying they didn’t have the adoption fee, which is $150, according to Irizarry, who has long been active in cat rescue.
“Sprout was born in my dining room,” Irizzary said.
Last January, “her mother cat was dumped at PetSmart in Valley Stream.”
On the carrier, someone had written, “She is having babies — please save her.” Sprout has a male sibling — a tuxedo cat named Squirt.
The crime is classified as petit larceny, according to a police spokesman.
“Two females removed the cat from the cage without permission, concealed the cat in a quilted tote bag and fled on foot,” he said.
One suspect was wearing a black hoodie, a pink shirt and blue jeans.
The other wore orange leggings.
Anyone with further information can contact Irizarry at fabulousfeline@yahoo.com or call/text 516-468-4438, a dedicated phone line.
