Mo is a darling, 8-year-old tabby that lives with his owners in Lincoln, Nebraska.
In general, Mo is an inside cat, but, like many felines, he enjoys laying outside and watching the neighborhood events. His owner, Samuel Forest Evertson, doesn’t mind indulging his kitty’s love for the outdoors, just so long as he’s there to keep an eye on him. Oftentimes, Mo will simply lay on the front patio while Samuel watches him from inside.
Last week, Mo was relaxing on the porch with Samuel close by his side. However, at one point, Samuel needed to go inside to do something— and that’s when a catnapper swooped in.
Pet theft is common all over the world, and the snatched pets usually don’t get a good life. Purebred dogs are often the main target, being stolen and used to breed. Sometimes, animals are taken until a reward is offered, then the perpetrator steps up to save the day— and is rewarded with a pricey sum. Other animals, PAWS reveals, are sold to research and veterinary institutions which use them for testing and experimentation.
When Samuel was inside the house, he got a notification on his phone from the security system. It was alerting him that there was activity on his front porch. When he looked outside, everything seemed to be fine.
But the security camera footage captured everything— and, when Samuel watched it, he was disturbed by what he saw.
In the footage, which was shared to Facebook and viewed over 100,000 times, you see Mo relaxing on the patio when a young, blonde woman approaches.
She rubs her fingers together, trying to lure Mo over, and gives him a few pets.
As soon as the cat’s within her reach, she snatches him up into her arms.
The woman heads to a getaway car on the street that had been waiting.
Luckily, Mo seemed to sense he was in danger— and, as a (mainly) indoor cat, it’s possible that the noise of the car spooked him a bit too. Whatever the case, right at the last second, as the woman is opening the door, he managed to make his great escape.
When the woman takes a hand off the cat to open the car door, he squeezes out of her grip and leaps over her shoulder— racing home to safety.
“The female opened the car door and the fleet-footed feline made his heroic escape as he leaped to the ground.” the police department described in a statement (via Inside Edition).
“When I saw Mo was almost taken, I was livid,” Samuel said.
He immediately reported the incident to police and took to Facebook to warn others in the community. When people caught wind of what had happened, they were determined to bring the attempted catnapper to justice. People love a happy ending, and many were happy to see the thief outsmarted by Mo. Most of the comments left on the video seem to express a disgust for the catnapper’s actions.
“I hope the cat bit her and she gets a bad infection!” one person said.
“Just go to the damn humane society! Cats are like $20. Don’t steal a pet from its family!” exclaimed another.
After seeing the video online, a woman contacted police and told them her neighbor bore a strong resemblance to the catnapper.
When police questioned the 17-year-old girl, she admitted she had tried to steal the cat on a dare from her friend but had never intended to keep it.
In spite of the girl’s reasoning, she is now being investigated in regards to attempted larceny and trespassing charges. Now that everything is over, Mo is still a little shaken up. In a Facebook post, Samuel tells the world:
“We chilling inside now where he can’t be snatched.”
Luckily, all’s well that ends well— but other animals aren’t always so lucky. Pet theft is common around the world— and to help you protect your pet, PAWS suggests keeping an up-to-date microchip and ID collar, being aware of strangers outdoors, and not leaving your pet outside unsupervised.
See Mo’s great escape below!
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