Abandoned kitten rescued in North York, only to be catnapped

A Toronto cat rescue group is working with police to find a man who stole a four-month-old kitten that was up for adoption in North York.

The kitten, named Einstein, was found abandoned on a North York street withfour of his siblings. Team Cat Rescue, a local charity group that helps homeless cats, got the kittens to safety and began the process ofputtingthemup for adoption.

But on Wednesday, May 4, while the kitten was in the Newtonbrook Pet Valustorein North York, he was stolen by a man now wanted by police.

The kitten was in thestore as a part of a partnership between the rescue and the store to get more homeless felines adopted.

Einsteinresembles the kitten inKeanu, a film currently in theatres about a stolen kitten.

"There was a lot of interest and enquiries into him. There was something about his face," said Suzanne Kleinberg, who runs the cat rescue group.

She thinks Einstein was targeted.

"To us, it looked like he knew exactly what he was doing," she said of the man who stole the kitten.

Security footage shows the suspectentering the store, choosingthe kitten out of three others in the cage and leaving. Employees at the store were busy with another customer, who Kleinberg believes acted as adecoy.

Kleinberg said Einstein received so much interest that she thinks someone may have tried to skip the competition to get the kitten, or tried to avoid being vetted by the group or paying the $200 neutering, microchip and vaccination fee.

Even still, there is the possibility the kitten's safety is in jeopardy.

"There are a lot of nutjobs out there. We see a lot of abused cats all the time, as a rescue. We've seen horror stories," she said.

"And these are not kids who wanted a little kitten but didn't have the adoption fee. This is a situation where an adult man stole a kitten."

The kitten had yet to be neutered or microchipped.

The rescue group is urging the public to keep an eye out for Einstein on sites like Kijiji, and Klienberg has reached out veterinarians across the city.

She said anyone with information about the man who stole the kitten can contact police at 416-808-2222, Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477 or leave a message at her cat rescue group.

"He's just sweetest guy.It breaks my heart."