North Bay Man's Beloved Cat Allegedly Taken by Airbnb Renters
SONOMA (KPIX) -- A Southern California couple who rented an Airbnb house in Sonoma allegedly checked out and left with a neighbor's cat.
"I just want my kid back. I want my friend back. She's my friend," said Sonoma resident Troy Farrell with tears in his eyes.
He said he misses his cat, Nubbins, every day.
"I'd go outside stressed out and burnt out, and she'd just come running and sit on my lap. She's like my support cat. And they stole her," said Farrell.
Farrell said a Long Beach couple had rented an Airbnb two doors down from his home in October. When they left, he said they took the outdoor cat with them.
Farrell was out of town at the time. When he returned, a veterinarian called him after scanning Nubbins' microchip.
"I'm like, 'Nubbins is in Long Beach?' She didn't walk to Long Beach nor did she hitch a ride, you know what I mean? How on earth is she in Long Beach?" asked Farrell.
The Long Beach couple apparently took the cat in for a health check. The vet returned the cat to the couple and asked them to contact Farrell. They refused.
"Those are evil people. Those are people without conscience. Those are people without a heart," said Farrell.
He filed a pet-napping report with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department. The clinic that contacted Farrell told KPIX 5 they fully co-operated with the sheriff's department.
An investigator told Farrell they forwarded the case to the district attorney's office.
Three months later, he is still waiting for Nubbins to be returned.
"I don't have kids. She's my kid. And she's seen me through so many things. And they took her and I want her back. Sorry, don't mean to be emotional. But I just think of all the, millions of times, the second that I'd open that door or drive up the driveway or go out back, it's just there's Nubbins, just in my lap," said Farrell.
He said he won't give up. He said if law enforcement won't act, then he may hire an attorney and a private investigator to get his cat back.
KPIX 5 reached out to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department on the case Friday afternoon, but have yet to hear back from them.