For cat owners whose pets often wander outside, this is one of our worst nightmares: a woman in California is asking for her cat to be returned safe and sound. And she knows exactly who took it—none other than the Amazon delivery driver, as recorded on her home surveillance cameras.
Diane Huff-Medina who lives in Los Angeles recounted how it happened on Thursday, December 11, and quickly shared a video on Facebook. In her initial post, she wrote: “An Amazon delivery driver took our cat… after dropping off a package on Thursday night. We just want her to come home safe and sound.”
Amazon cat kidnappers
The surveillance video shows an Amazon Flex worker leaving a package at his home in the Lakewood neighborhood around 6:00 p.m. Before turning to leave, he sees a cat and focuses on it. What appeared to be a routine video of the delivery driver petting the pet before continuing on his way turned into a nightmare scenario. He is seen petting the cat for a moment before attempting to pick it up. The cat, a six-year-old Siamese, is seen resisting. That’s when the delivery driver changes his attitude, grabs it by the neck, and takes it away in his car.
The cat, named Piper, belongs to her and her three young children. She is a domestic pet that lives both indoors and outdoors, and the family has implanted a microchip, but she was not wearing a collar at the time of the incident.
For animal lovers who see the video, it breaks our hearts. It is highly obvious that the delivery man does not treat the poor animal with love and picks up the cat aggresively. “…At first she meows, as usual. Then she sounds a little more distressed,” she told CBS News. “Then he grabs her more aggressively and takes her away as if she were a raccoon or something… It didn’t look like he was trying to save her, I don’t think.”
Diane admits to the press that she feels completely helpless seeing how they took her away, but they don’t know where she is or if she’s even okay. After seeing the security footage the next day, she immediately reported the incident to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LACSD). The report was filed on Monday, December 15.
The LACSD took some time to identify the suspect, who is 37 years old. According to an interview with the officers, I suspected my uncle of taking the cat and told them that at the time I thought it was just a stray. The suspect claims that the cat became agitated and jumped out of his truck, and has not yet been located. So far, the LACSD has not made any arrests, but detectives are continuing to investigate the case, which could result in misdemeanor charges.
Amazon’s apologies
Amazon was quick to issue a thousand apologies: “This was a horrible act, and we have apologized to Ms. Huff-Medina. The Amazon Flex delivery partner in question is no longer permitted to make deliveries to our customers. We are in contact with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to share relevant information and will continue to support their investigation.”
For now, Ms. Diana Huff-Medina is trying to reassure her heartbroken children by keeping up their hope that their pet will return. Piper, who was adopted in 2019, came to live with them just two months after the children’s father died in an accident. “Every day they ask, ‘Is she back yet?’. It’s hard to tell them.”
Although we must always be optimistic, any cat lover knows the cruel nature of some people, who take advantage of the small size of these animals to do their dirty work. If the cat does not appear, we hope that the suspect will be charged, since pets are still private property, so this has been a theft. In the meantime, we will pray for Piper to come home… or at least receive justice.