Naughty Paw meets naughty cat thieves: Purrloined feline returned to Halifax store

A group of Halifax cat thieves must have become nervous after surveillance video of their crime surfaced on social media. 

Three young adults walked into the Naughty Paw on Quinpool Road Friday morning, checking out various items just before 11 a.m., but mainly doting over Bambi, the store’s furry white feline, which one of them stuffed under her coat on the way out the door. 

“We just found her,” Jerry Wang, the store’s co-owner, said Monday just before noon. 

“We got her back.” 

‘Got scared’

Bakers at the bagel place across the street found Bambi in a cardboard box near their door when they arrived at work Monday morning. 

“I think the people who stole her just got scared and put her there,” said Wang, who later retrieved Bambi. 

“She’s not in great condition. But we’ll get her calmed down then we’ll get her checked (at the veterinarian down the street).” 

‘Really happy’

Wang was “really happy” to get the store’s mascot back. 

“We’ve had her for like four years,” he said. 

When she first went missing, the store’s owners figured Bambi was just hiding somewhere and taking a nap. 

On Saturday, they got suspicious when Bambi didn’t show up after they put her food out. 

‘Always comes for food’

“She did that before, but she always comes for food,” Wang said. 

When she failed to come out of hiding to greet customers, they knew something was wrong. 

“Normally, when a new customer comes in, she will come out to welcome them,” Wang said. 

“She loves new people.” 

Didn’t suspect theft

Worried that the cat slipped out the door, they checked the store’s surveillance video and saw she’d been stolen. 

“We were not suspecting that,” Wang said of the theft, noting they filed a police report about the catnappers. 

In the store’s surveillance video, one woman is wearing a red coat, black tights and white sneakers. A man with a moustache who is clearly with her is wearing a red track suit and a blue backpack.  

All of them check out the cat, but a woman wearing black tights, a black coat and black sneakers is the one that stuffs Bambi under her jacket before they all leave the store. 

‘Need your help’

“Hello everyone from Halifax. We need your help,” the Naughty Paw posted on several social media channels.  

“Our cat Bambi got stolen by people in the following video.” 

They were asking for anyone who recognizes the cat nappers to contact them. 

“We would just want our Bambi back and nothing more,” the owners said in the post. 

Wang planned to delete the videos once the cat was safe. 

“I don’t want things to get worse,” he said. 

“As long as they return Bambi, I am happy.”