Barbershop Cat Heist on Thanksgiving
A group of audacious cat thieves broke into a barber shop in South Los Angeles, stealing the owner’s cherished $2,000 Savannah cat.
At around 2:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, three masked individuals smashed a pickup truck into the shop’s front. Surveillance footage showed these “heartless” thieves dragging out a terrified feline named Simba from his cage and loading him into a tan Toyota pickup truck.
“There was just no turkey or ham, and honestly, no appetite,” recounted the cat’s owner, Joe Gomez, who learned about the crime from his barber at 7:30 that morning.
A post on the shop’s Instagram page lamented, “They stole our family-owned store’s Savannah Cat, along with all our barber tools and products.” It emphasized that the main priority was getting Simba back. “Material things can be replaced,” it stated.
The Savannah cat is a rare breed, a mix of domestic cat and the wild African serval. Some breeders even claim that early-generation spotted tabbies can fetch prices as high as $20,000.
As a devoted cat lover, Gomez had spent years saving before finally adopting Simba a year and a half ago. He believes the thieves targeted Simba thinking he held a high resale value. “I think they came to take him because they thought he had great value and could be sold,” he shared.
“But to me, his worth is priceless. He’s my cat,” Gomez expressed. “I take him for walks in the neighborhood and even to Griffith Park. He was like a baby to me,” he added.
According to the International Cat Association, Savannah cats are quite intelligent. They’ve even been known to figure out how to open doors and operate faucets. Gomez mentioned that Simba knew how to unlatch his cage, and he’s hoping that, with this knowledge, Simba might find a way to escape from the robbers.
On the flip side, Gomez worries that Simba’s loud meows might attract unwanted attention, leading to mistreatment. “He’s so loud. That’s my concern—if he starts making noise, they might hurt him to keep him quiet,” he said.
Following the break-in, Gomez has remained at the shop to prevent further thefts. “This place means everything to me. It keeps my family supported,” he noted.
He expressed his belief that the thieves lack compassion for others. “I think these people have no heart; they don’t care about how others feel,” he remarked. Furthermore, he reflected on how this incident has shifted his perspective on Thanksgiving, feeling a deep appreciation for his supportive customers. “I’m grateful for my community,” he said, noting that his post about Simba had garnered 700 shares in an effort to find him.
Authorities received the report on the day of the theft, but there haven’t been any updates since. Meanwhile, Gomez is collaborating with a private investigator, Moses Castillo, who is using the truck’s license plate information to track down the suspects.
“I’m just waiting for a call from the detective to share what I know,” he stated, all while still mourning his friend Simba’s disappearance.
“I saw a man with a cover on, and when I sat down, I noticed ‘cat’ written on it. It brought tears to my eyes. When someone is gone, everything reminds you of them,” he shared.
Gomez has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds for the business’s recovery and to help locate Simba, aiming for a goal of $4,000. So far, he’s received 30 donations totaling $1,355.
“We are heartbroken by this violation of our business and home. It’s devastating that our cat, our tools, and our livelihood have been taken. We truly appreciate the community’s support and hope for assistance in bringing these criminals to justice,” Gomez wrote on the fundraising page.
