David Hogben
Vancouver Sun
Thursday, September 18, 2003

Police in Surrey are seeking an African serval cat reported stolen this week and last seen Wednesday at Robin's Donuts in Newton.

Constable Tim Shields said a Kelowna woman of no fixed address reported the cat missing about 4 p.m Tuesday. She said she had left it in her vehicle, which was parked outside a local muffler shop for about 20 hours.

He said the 18-kilogram cat, a two-year-old named Loki worth about $2,500, had a reputation for causing trouble in Kelowna, where it reportedly once chased a woman into her home.

Loki's owner was not identified by police, but a woman named Maya Kendi, who says she is the owner of the cat was interviewed by BCTV on Global.

Wearing a fitted, bright-coloured Hello Kitty T-shirt, Kendi talked about her run of bad luck and warned people that her pet could be dangerous to strangers.

"Everything's been stolen in Kelowna, so I came down here just to get away and now my cat's been stolen," Kendi said.

"He's fine with me, but it is a wild animal. You have to realize this animal will attack a child."

Vancouver Humane Society campaign coordinator Peter Fricker said serval cats are becoming more common as exotic pets, but he was unable to say how many there are in the Lower Mainland.

The animals grow to be about 80 centimetres (about 32 inches) tall and can weigh up to 20 kilograms (45 pounds).

The cat resembles a miniature cheetah except that the serval has a relatively short tail. The cheetah's tail is longer for balance and steering while running.

Police received four reports early Wednesday that the cat had been seen in the company of a man who appeared to be dragging it on a leash along a street near the intersection of 80th Avenue and King George Highway. The man was said to be white, in his 30s, with blond hair and a moustache. He was about 178 centimetres (five feet, 10 inches) tall and of medium build.

But police received another report Wednesday that a Surrey bylaw officer, unaware the cat had been stolen, helped two young men load it into a vehicle at the Robin's Donut shop off the King George Highway in Newton.

Robin's employee Sohila Karimi said two men sauntered up to her counter, ordered an orange juice and sandwich for one of them and some water and a beef sausage roll for the cat.

Karimi did not see the animal being loaded in the van or the involvement of the bylaw enforcement officer, but said the men were regulars in the area and appeared to be a street people.

"I see them all the time coming in for doughnuts," Karimi recalled. "They are always asking for free doughnuts."

She said the cat drank some water, but she did not notice if it had any of the beef sausage roll.

She also said the cat appeared to be reluctant to go with the men.

"The cat looked scared," she said. "It didn't want to go; they pulled it very hard."

Surrey bylaw and licensing manager John Sherstone said his bylaw officer saw a man with the cat at a convenience store near the Robin's Donuts and advised him to get it off the street.

"She did exactly the best thing she could do," Sherstone said. "She made sure that it was in the van and that it departed."

As news of the theft of the cat spread through Surrey, Shields said numerous false alarms were received.

RCMP and the SPCA charged to a location near the doughnut shop after receiving a telephone tip from someone claiming to have located Loki.

"It was a false alarm," Shields said, adding that another false alarm turned out to be a raccoon growling under the protective hood of a hot tub.

Other false sightings were telephoned in from anxious parents near school yards.

Other parents and kids took the wild cat theft in stride.

Rebecca Thomsen, pushed Zack, 17 months old, in his stroller as she walked Page, four years old, to kindergarten at Bear Creek Elementary Wednesday afternoon.

Thomsen acknowledged she was aware of the missing cat, but said her kids would not normally be unescorted on those streets.

"We have already got coyotes running around here," she said.

Ironically, a bylaw that could prohibit the purchase or transfer of such exotic animals was considered by Surrey council at its Tuesday meeting.

Animal rights activists say such a bylaw would have to ban not just the purchase but the ownership of such animals to be effective.

"Otherwise, people in Surrey would simply go into another area where there is no ban on the sale of exotic animals," said the humane society's Fricker.

The Surrey bylaw goes to council for third reading in about two weeks.