Published Aug 3, 2026
Image Credit: Stephanie Stullich / Beltsville Community Cats
The only thing Magnolia—a stolen tuxedo kitten used in a bizarre bank robbery attempt—is guilty of is stealing hearts, her rescuer says. And though the incident-which sounds like satire, but really happened – was scary, Magnolia emerged unharmed and has since been adopted into a loving home!
This crazy story happened near Washington, D.C. in July, when a man who had been checking out the 3.5-month-old kitten at a Pet Supplies Plus in Beltsville, Maryland, for the past several weeks stole her from the store. (Apparently, by watching workers, he figured out where the cage keys were kept.) The man left the store cradling the kitten named Magnolia, and he ran across the parking lot to the PNC Bank. He entered the bank, handed Magnolia to a bank manager, and said: “Can you hold this?” Then, the catnapper wrote a note demanding cash and gave it to a teller.
What was this guy thinking? Was the kitten intended to be a decoy that would distract bank employees from his crime? Stephanie Stullich, president of Beltsville Community Cats, thinks that was likely the man’s plan, but who knows what was going through his mind?
“I don’t think he’s a hardened bank robber. I think he’s someone with mental health problems,” Stullich, of College Park, Maryland, tells Cats.com.
After receiving a call about the stolen kitten, she rushed to help and was surprised to find numerous police vehicles at the scene, later learning the incident had shifted from the pet store to a nearby bank. Stephanie Stullich / Beltsville Community Cats
She got a call about the catnapped kitten and came rushing to help. When Stullich saw all the police cars in the parking lot, she was surprised that law enforcement would have that big a response for a stolen cat. But then, she discovered that the scene of the crime had moved from the pet store to the bank.
The man’s bank caper didn’t succeed. The police took him into custody, and sweet Magnolia returned to the pet store and then foster care unharmed.
“He ran with this poor little kitten bobbling in his arms,” Stullich says. “It’s been a wild ride. Of course, it began as terrifying, and it could have ended very badly. A lot of kittens would have scratched their way out of his arms and run into traffic.”
As the incident ended, Stullich knew that Magnolia’s story would go viral, so she started contacting news outlets. Indeed, the story of the stolen kitten used in a foiled bank robbery spread around the world.
The unusual story even inspired a humorous TikTok song, followed by a second video encouraging donations to Beltsville Community Cats and supporting its mission to care for homeless cats and kittens. Stephanie Stullich / Beltsville Community Cats
Scott Cagle, a TikTok creator at @thecaglecollective, made a funny song about the incident called “Hold My Cat … I’m Robbin’ This Bank!” Stullich commented that she loved the video, and Cagle created a second video with funny AI-generated street cats named Gideon and Moonshine encouraging people to donate to Beltsville Community Cats. (We second that and agree with the sweet song lyrics, including: “Every little dollar helps a kitten eat, turns an empty sidewalk to a safer treat.”)
You can watch an adorable video of Magnolia from BBC News, where foster mom Kathy Rodeffer said the kitten insisted on having a high place in the pecking order among her other felines.
“She wants to be up top,” Rodeffer told BBC. “She has the media attention, so she’s a higher class of citizen here.”
Magnolia had come to Beltsville Community Cats as a solo kitten a few weeks before the bank caper. Somebody had found her outside and contacted the rescue, and Stullich knew they had found a real gem that would make someone a wonderful pet.
“She’s adorable,” Stullich says. “She’s really sweet and very friendly.”
The media coverage resulted in 21 adoption applications coming in for Magnolia. But, the rescue chose a nice couple whose application was already in progress.
“We kind of liked the fact that they wanted her before she was famous,” Stullich says.
But, she reminds cat lovers, Beltsville Community Cats has plenty of other cats whom she calls “Magnolia’s friends,” so if you are in the Washington D.C. area, take a look at the rescue’s many worthy felines looking for homes. Caring for homeless kittens and cats gets very expensive, especially during summer kitten season, so please consider donating and/or fostering, for any rescue group or shelter. The joy of saving vulnerable lives is priceless, says Stullich, whose group has been operating since 2019.
Caring for homeless cats and kittens is especially challenging during kitten season, so consider donating to or fostering for your local rescue or shelter to help save vulnerable lives. Stephanie Stullich / Beltsville Community Cats
“What’s better than saving the lives of adorable furry little animals?” she says.
In an interesting follow-up incident, a female tuxedo kitten showed up at a house in the same neighborhood where Magnolia was found just two streets away. This skinny girl has a similar personality to Magnolia, and Stullich thinks she is likely Magnolia’s littermate. She took the sweet kitten, named Maggie, into foster care at her home. We hope Maggie also gets her happy ending soon-without getting catnapped first!
For another catnapping story with a happy ending, read about Artie, a beloved Philadelphia cat who is popular with the neighbors. In 2025, some juveniles abducted Artie from the street, but after intensive media coverage of the search, someone brought the cat back to a shelter, where Artie’s microchip united him with his family.
As for Magnolia, all’s well that ends well-but that sure was a bizarre thing that happened.
“That’s what makes this story so beautiful,” Stullich says. “It’s super crazy. You can’t make this stuff up, and yet it has a happy ending.”
