A three-month-old kitten named Jabal is back home at his bodega in Brooklyn, New York, playing with his toys as relieved neighbors stop by to see him.
Jabal disappeared after wandering outside Eighth Street Mini Market in Park Slope one morning. Surveillance video showed a man pick him up and leave with a woman, CBS News New York reported.
His family was heartbroken. Jabal had only recently become the store’s new mascot after Victoria, the bodega’s former cat, died.
Five days later, however, someone dropped Jabal off at a police precinct, and an officer brought the kitten back to the bodega. Once back inside, Jabal climbed onto his guardian, Imad Innab, then sniffed his bed, chair, and toys.
“I cried,” Innab told Gothamist.
As news of Jabal’s return spread, children on their way home from school cheered at the sight of him, with several stopping to play with the kitten behind the counter. One neighbor said her son had even camped outside the bodega in a lawn chair waiting for Jabal to return.
To help keep Jabal safe, Innab has given him a collar and name tag, scheduled a microchip appointment, and plans to keep him indoors from now on.
Lady Freethinker celebrates Jabal’s safe return, applauds his guardian’s efforts to protect him, and wishes him a long, happy life surrounded by the family and neighbors who were so eager to welcome him home.
