In one respect, it feels unfair to blame Amazon for its employees stealing cats.
The company’s drivers make millions of deliveries to American homes, and the vast amount of time there are no problems.
On the other hand, this has happened so many times now that you’d think Amazon would make it a priority to tell its drivers: Do not steal cats from customers. It’s not acceptable, it’s traumatic for the cats and their humans, and it’s horrible PR for the company.
The latest incident involves a driver who was caught on camera this week stealing 18-year-old Murphy, who belongs to Kathy Souza of Somerset, Massachusetts. Security camera footage shows the driver retrieving cat food from her vehicle and chasing after Murphy, then disappearing.
Souza told a local NBC affiliate that neighbors at an AirBnB saw the driver steal Murphy. The driver allegedly told them she was concerned about the cat, that it “didn’t seem right to her and she was going to take it,” Souza said.
As of mid-morning Wednesday, Souza posted an update saying she was waiting at the Somerset Police Department, where the driver apparently agreed to return the cat.
Like so many others before her, Souza found Amazon tone deaf, minimally responsive and unhelpful.
“I spoke with someone at Amazon who asked, ‘Is the cat worth more or less than $200?'” an incredulous Souza wrote on Facebook.
A customer service representative also asked Souza to fill out a satisfaction survey, which mirrors the experience others have had when the company’s drivers have stolen pets. Amazon handles the cases as if their drivers stole or damaged property rather than taking living creatures often considered family by the people who love and care for them.
The company’s responses are similar to the way it handled the case of Feefee, a 13-year-old tabby cat stolen from a family in Everett, Washington, by an Amazon driver in late July of 2024.
In that case, Amazon offered to compensate the Ishak family by sending a stuffed animal resembling Feefee, and told owner Ray Ishak that the apologetic driver had contacted police to return the cat. That wasn’t true, and to make matters worse, the Amazon driver abandoned Feefee and wouldn’t tell the family where she’d dumped the cat. Ishak spent several days driving through his neighborhood and surrounding areas, looking for the driver’s car which was visible in his doorbell camera footage.
Ishak found his cat without Amazon’s help after a great deal of stress and effort.
Souza said she would post another update about Murphy “when I have him in my arms.”
Update, 2:05 pm: Souza has been reunited with Murphy.
In a statement, Amazon said the driver’s behavior doesn’t meet the company’s standards and promised an investigation, but a friend of Souza wrote on Facebook that it was pressure from social media posts and local news reports, not action from Amazon, that prompted the woman to return Murphy.
“Rescuing animals is honorable, but due diligence is imperative, and this woman did not do hers,” she wrote.
Murphy is well known among neighbors and doesn’t stray further than three houses from home, Souza wrote in an earlier post.
We’re glad Souza and Murphy have been reunited and this story has a happy ending.
As for the lessons learned here, anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves in this situation should not wait for Amazon to act. The company won’t have the same sense of urgency, and its customer service staff aren’t trained or equipped to take the necessary steps, like liaison with local law enforcement.
In cases where people have recovered their pets, the common thread is that they took the initiative, used social media and local news to get the story out, and were relentless. Time is crucial, because in some cases delivery drivers will panic and abandon stolen pets.
Header image credit Wikimedia Commons
Pain In The Bud 
Another Amazon fail! While I’m glad the cat has been returned to home, I wish the owner would keep her inside now. It’s just too risky to let cats roam free.
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I generally agree, although I’ve become more understanding in recent years thanks to people like John Graham. It’s not an option for Bud because of our neighborhood and his lack of any outdoor skills
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Many indoor cats have no outdoor skills. For that matter, some outdoor cats lack certain skills, too. I live in the country and my barn cats are supposed to take care of rodents. Some do, others don’t. One of my barn cats delighted in hunting snakes, successfully.
And yes, I do realize that having barn cats is the opposite of keeping cats inside exclusively. Unfortunately even a tiny farm like ours will be plagued by rodents. We have live trapped and removed the animals. Alas, they return or breed back. Poison is out of the question and so are glue traps.
I’d hate to use lethal traps.
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You’re in a tough situation. Barn cats have very different lives. I’m sure you take good care of them.
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Why does someone have to be told not to steal a cat? I will NEVER use Amazon and people with pets should not. And i am sure you heard about pos postman who pepper sprayed elderly cat?
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I saw that, yeah. Super depressing stories lately between that, the BBC investigation that revealed the online cat torture rings are even bigger than previously known, and other animal abuse stories.
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Thank you so much for reporting on this! Amazon offered me an” outdoor cat house” my cat lives in my home!!!!
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Little Buddy (the cat) and I (the human) are very glad you were reunited with Murphy, Kathy.
There have been so many of these stories, not only with Amazon but also various delivery services, that I’m seriously considering writing a guide for people who find themselves in this situation.
As I wrote, the common thread for success at being reunited is to do exactly what you did: immediately begin making noise, involving the media and being relentless.
Amazon just won’t have a sense of urgency about it, and they still haven’t learned that pets can’t be replaced with free items.
If you’re up for it, I’d like to ask you a few questions for the guide. If you don’t want to share your email publicly, you can reach me at paininthebud at gmail dot com
(The site name is tongue in cheek. Bud is the king around here and has me wrapped around his little paw.)
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Kathy, you handled this so well. I don’t know how I’d handle it. I’m so glad you’re furry kiddo is home and safe 💓
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At least there is a happy ending to this story, but both cat and owner must have been traumatised. I’ve not heard of anything like this happening in the UK, and let’s hope it’s one American habit that Brits refuse to adopt!
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There have been a few incidents involving Amazon drivers stealing pets in the UK, although I suspect it’s less tempting when most people let their cats wander outside and there’s an abundance of strays.
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Didn’t know that. Very sad.
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(Third time trying to post this.) Murphy does not appear to need to be rescued. Amazon’t customer service is atrocious even regarding their own merchandise. Glad it had a happy ending
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