$1,500 reward offered by NY cat rescue for stolen kitten 'Sprout'

NEW YORK (PIX11) -- A nonprofit from Long Island offered a cash reward Wednesday for the safe return of a kitten allegedly stolen over the weekend at a PETCO Love adoption event in Union Square, Manhattan. 

“It all happened so fast that I didn’t even realize it happened,” said Pat Irizarry, of The Fabulous Feline. “It wasn’t until two witnesses told me that I realized our kitten was stolen, someone had cut the zip ties and removed it from the cage.” 

Irizarry said she and her partner attended the event and all their cats were secured in cages. The event, held this past Sunday, included multiple nonprofits trying to put animals in homes so Irizarry said it was hard to keep track of everything. 

Two witnesses told Irizarry a kitten named “Sprout” was snatched from right under her. 

“I was so upset, I wasn’t in the right state of mind. Sprout was only 4 months old, and I had hand fed that kitten and watched over it,” Irizarry told PIX11 News in a phone interview Tuesday. “She was born from a litter of three kittens and only two survived; one of her siblings was stillborn.” 

The witnesses told Irizarry they captured photos of one of the women who allegedly took Sprout. A police report was filed with the NYPD’s 13th Precinct.

Irizarry provided PIX11 News with a copy of the report. When asked, the NYPD could not immediately provide information on the incident.

Irizarry said her nonprofit is small. She keeps the rescue running through donations and pays for many expenses out-of-pocket.

Her cats are microchipped, spayed/neutered, and vaccinated. The adoption fee ranges from $125 to $200. 

With the help of donations, Irizarry is now offering a $1,500 cash reward for the safe return of Sprout. When asked if she had a message for the alleged cat-napper, Irizarry said:

“I’ll meet you in a secure location, no cameras, no questions. I’ll verify it’s my kitten and you can take the money. Had you told me you could not afford the adoption fee, I would’ve gladly walked you through the process of how to obtain an animal for free.”