Thief caught stealing beloved store cat named MiMi at shop near Koreatown

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Surveillance video captured the moment a thief walked into a shop near Koreatown and stole the owners' beloved store cat.

The incident happened just before 1 p.m. Saturday at Harbin Deer Trading Co., an herbal medicine store on Western Avenue near 2nd Street.

The owners, Andrew Xu and Kelly Kim, spoke with Eyewitness News and said their cat MiMi has lived in the store for about 10 years. He's become a familiar face and is reportedly loved by many customers.

The owners said the thief was pretending to shop before snatching MiMi from a table.

They said they didn't notice until a couple hours later when they filled MiMi's bowl and he didn't show up. They were busy helping customers at the time of the crime.

"I'm really shocked to see the video, to see that person ... how easy to just grab someone's cat ... just grabbing it for no reason," said Xu. "We're pretty surprised."

The owners are working to file a police report.

The suspect was seen carrying a backpack, wearing a striped purple shirt and a lavender tie with blue pants.

The store's owners are asking anyone who may have seen MiMi to contact authorities