P.S.: The management company (originally noted above as refusing to help) is Rockrose Development Corp.--fellow New Yorkers, think twice before you rent an apartment they own or (mis)manage! From the beginning, they have been belligerent and uncooperative (down to our property manager yelling at me for posting flyers, in front of staff and other tenants, and refusing to meet with me to discuss what to do after we received the note). Comments can be addressed to Mike Brady (the yeller) at Rockrose, at mikeb@rockrose.com or 212-984-1744.

Well, we are the people in the article (the owners of the stolen cat)....so I figured it was our turn to weigh in!

First, it's bizarre that someone else had a "crazy catnapper" neighbor--I never heard of this kind of thing before, and with all the stray cats in the world, who does stuff like this?

Second, the story was inaccurate: we were not on vacation! We left the house for a volleyball game and then spent the evening out with friends--we were gone for about 12 hours.

Really funny and supportive (and, er, some not so supportive) comments--interesting to hear. Quick answers to some of the questions: it's not a pedigree cat but we are a couple and figured we could each swing $500--and we wanted a big enough amount to get people's attention; the city shelter (where we adopted her) microchipped her--it's mandatory and it's free (so not a big luxury item, as someone pointed out); and we have since adopted another cat to keep cuddlebug company. (this one is a kitten but cuddlebug still hates him, even though he has been here for 2 weeks now) Assuming we get Penelope back, we will simply have 3 cats--and if we don't, at least cuddlebug will have a companion...albeit one she can't stand. :-)

Best to all,

Katherine

I also have a mom in the area who takes the cat when I go out of town. If I'm just out at night, I leave the cat at home, although I can't imagine how anyone could steal her. I guess if there were workers going in and out, but... would someone break into a house to steal a cat? Mine is very cute, I will admit, but why would you do that? Go to a shelter!

to Marlene and others, this isn't tax payers' money. If people feel like offering a $1000 reward for their cat, and they can afford it, more power to them. It's no skin off your teeth.

But I agree with the other posters--how awful to be stealing cats when there are hundreds dying in shelters every day who could use a good home.

I have two cats (one crazy and mean, one sweet and needy) - when I go out of town for 2 days or less, I just leave 'em lots of food and a very clean litterbox.

If it's for longer, my upstairs neighbor stops by once a day to feed them etc. It turns out she's way better than the "professional" catsitter I had to hire over Christmas (one of my cats threw up on my bed, and she DIDN'T clean it up so I had to get my bedspread drycleaned). And yes, I do pay her - she's a student, so she welcomes the extra income.

Elizabeth, a freind of mine lived with 17 cats...

;)

Her mother had a **Really** Big maternal instinct and kept adopting. The Attic was owned by the cats, the entire house was kept clean (No Smells) and they all got along ok with a Big German shepard too.

I think the German Shepard was Over whelmed by the Sheer Number of cats...

When I go away for the weekend, I leave The Thundering Herd (4 cats - yes, 4) with tons of food and water in those upside-down dispensers so they don't gorge themselves or knock the water over and then die of thirst. If my boyfriend's not coming with, he'll stay with them. Anything longer than that and I hire a professional catsitter. She's a little weird, but she's very good. All this is probably unnecessary - I half expect to come home to the lot of them downing turkey sandwiches and beers, wearing disappointed faces now that I've returned.

And whoever stole that poor kitty is an awful, selfish person who deludes themselves into thinking their behavior is somehow justified. I agree with the posters who mentioned the pound and animal rescues - want a cat? Get your own! All mine are rescues and all are coveted by friends ... but if anyone ever stole one of them, I'm break their fingers one by one. And if I could offer a $1000 reward, I totally would. It's all relative.

My kitty died at the ripe old age of 21- I got her when I turned 5! While I would have been very sad if she were taken from me by a creepy cat-napper, there is no way I'd offer 1,000 to get her back. Donate the money to a shelter, get another sweet kitty who likes head-butting and back scratching and the like.

For short two-day business trips I leave my two boys home alone with enough food and water for a week and a several litter boxes. Anything longer, they go to a kennel. Which they hate, but, better safe than sorry.

I've had escape-artists cats and I had one that I know was stolen. It never occurred to me to contact the police. I did post pictures with my cell number and promise of a reward. No luck. I understand Marlene's point - a thousand for the return of a cat? It's a lot of money for pound kitties. If it's a pedigree cat, then that makes some sense... though a grand is a lot. For me, anyway.

Stealing cats is insane. There are thousands of cats and kittens in need of good homes. Anyone out there thinking of stealing a cat, go to your local shelter!

Come on. Let's give them a break. How much $1000 is worth can really depend on how much $ you have. (Not that I have any.) But, there are more than enough people walking around Manhattan in shoes that cost that much. And I can imagine placing a higher value on my pet more than on any one pair of shoes I own.

As for me, since getting a cat I have tended to go on shorter trips (couple of days tops) and leave sufficient food and water or have a friend stop in to check. The one time I moved the cat across town for the week, she went batshit.

Just to have Marlene's back for a second... yes, I think $1000 is excessive, too! And I have two cats I am extrememley attached to, consider "part of the family" etc. But $1000 (not to mention a PI and a microchip) is A LOT OF MONEY.

Ok, question: exactly how long were these people on vacation? A day or two, I can understand not having someone to look after the cat. (Person to look after cat = person to make sure cat does not escape apartment) But how much longer is ok? (Mind you, I'm not siding with the catnappers here... those people are horrible and mean.)

I love our two catbeasts and would be utterly despondent if they were catnapped. My question is, though, are your neighbors good petsitters? Last time we went on vacation I hinted to my next door neighbors (who have 2 cats) how great it would be to have someone stop in everyday to check on them (I'd pay too). The response? They gave me the business card of a professional petsitting/dogwalking service. I thought this was extraordinarily unneighborly -- and mind you I would totally catsit for them (gratis) if asked.

Uh, yeah, Marlene, come on... so you know, microchipping is pretty standard fair at all shelters these days. It's not some weirdo luxury thing. There are pet recovery systems nationwide that now use this method (previous methods of a number tattoo on a dog's ear or cat's tummy didn't work as well, as people don't know to look under the fur for those IDs. And, we all know, old school collars can come off). Thus, microchipping.

How wierd is it that catnapping is this common?

Marlene, it's hard to explain unless you really like pets. My parents have Siamese cat that is 16 years old this year. He's practically part of the family, talks at us and we'll miss him terribly when he's gone.

Pets are just important to some people and not that important to others.

It's not a vacuum-cleaner hose Marlene, it's a pet. People tend to like bond with them and stuff.

Sorry Marlene, but regarding your rather heartless post, when it's your cat, it's never "just a cat".

Does anyone mind that this couple was willing to $1,000 just for a cat? Also, private investigator's, microchips? Did they use this cat to store gold? IT'S JUST A CAT!

catnapping is bad enough, but that note is seriously creepy. i hope it's a prank.

this is so fucked up.

my friend's cat got kidnapped from outside by this lonely woman in her neighborhood. so sad.