Update: Yuri is back! Adopt-An-Angel told Facebook followers, “BREAKING NEWS! We have YURI back!!! Thank you Internet sleuths! The WPD has picked her up and we have her. We do NOT intend to press charges. She is safe and we are happy that they returned her.”

Wilmington, NC – On the evening of March 1 (Saturday), a man and what appears to be a teenage boy, stole a young cat from an Adopt-An-ANGEL Petco adoption Fair event. According to the event coordinator, the pair took a ten-to-twelve-month-old kitten named Yuri out of an unlocked side door of her cage.

In a social media post, the scenario was recounted to the public:

As I was helping a family with an adoption, of a different kitten I saw them petting this super friendly kitty through the cage. And I had just arrived at 8pm, they’d coincidentally walked in right in front of me from down towards the direction of Wendys, not the parking lot. I’d already pre-approved the family adopting a kitten. When I turned my back, that had to be when they stole her. I thought the cages were all locked up, but someone didn’t lock the side door, only the front of the cages were locked! When I went to feed them all their wet food about 10min later is when I noticed she was gone!! We checked the store, I called the adopter, because she had a quiet introverted friend with her, who was sitting in proximity of them. I’d asked her if they saw anyone with a cat, she said “yes, my friend saw the guy caring a cat out in the parking lot!!

Providing details about Yuri:

The foster just got them from Sampson County animal shelter and she’d only been there since noon.. her name is Yuri and she’s a tan orange black tabby cat around 10-12mos old. Shes extremely friendly, which is how he managed to take her and stuff her into his zip up black sweat jacket.. as seen in these pictures!!

Adopt-An-Angel just wants Yuri safely returned, writing:

If anyone recognizes them, please reach out to us or to the Wilmington police Dept. All we want is a safe return. Please tell them to not let it go—they can bring it back to Petco in a carrier and say they “found it”

You can find Adopt-An-Angel on Facebook at this link.

Note: Animal Victory is offering a $500 reward; if anyone wants to add to the reward, please send an email to info@animalvictory.org.

A police report has been filed. You can call the Wilmington Police or 911 if you have information about Yuri or the pair who took her.

Thanks for reading! We appreciate you.