‘Tears of joy': Jabal, beloved Brooklyn bodega cat, returned after community uproar
Sep 15, 2026
Jabal, a Park Slope bodega cat, has been returned.
Imad Innab, owner of Jabal and Eighth Street Mini Market, said in a statement Tuesday that the feline was dropped off at a local precinct earlier in the day.
“I was crying tears of joy when I saw them walk in with him,” Innab said. “The
re were no arrests as far as I know or even care as I just wanted Jabal home. He was very happy to be home himself, running around the store nonstop.”
The bodega’s owner said he’s only had Jabal for about a month. He got the cat to replace his beloved former cat, Victoria, who died earlier this year.
“He’s like my baby,” Imad Innab, Jabal’s owner, said Monday. “After I had my Victoria, she died like three months ago, you know, she’d been with me like 17 years.”
Innab said he let Jabal outside to explore in front of the store, but the cat vanished shortly after. The mystery cleared quickly when he checked the security tape and saw Jabal being carried away by two people.
Many in the Park Slope community sprang into action, making flyers and fundraising to help find the cat and the people who took him. Innab, known to most as Jimmy, has been something like a family member in this close-knit community for nearly 40 years.
“Clearly he’s become symbolic of something much larger. And the community did rally because it seemed such an unnecessary event,” a neighbor said.
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