Deli owner annoyed by cat dumps him at shelter, family says — then comes happy reunion

A family’s cat that used to hang around a local deli disappeared when the deli owner got fed up and dumped him outside a closed animal shelter, New York officials said.

His family and the Saratoga Springs community rallied to find Kane, but he was missing for more than three months.

Then came a phone call.

Kane has now been reunited with his family, owner Jamie DiGiovanni shared on Facebook on April 26, ending a distressing saga that began in early January.

“In this neighborhood, Kane has become known as the ‘Mayor of Spring Street and Court Street,’” DiGiovanni told WRGB. “He’s a very lovable indoor/outdoor cat.”

Kane often made his way to a deli down the street, where employees fed him and let him hang out, locals said in a GoFundMe. But the owner grew frustrated by the cat’s presence and wanted him gone, DiGiovanni told WRGB. He told DiGiovanni so, and she agreed, but then he decided to act, she said.

The evening of Jan. 4, the deli owner picked up Kane and drove him to the Saratoga County Animal Shelter, which was closed at the time, according to the Saratoga County District Attorney’s Office.

He was caught on camera leaving Kane outside the shelter and driving away as the temperature dropped to 20 degrees, the district attorney’s office said.

The 49-year-old pleaded guilty to animal cruelty March 5. He declined to comment to McClatchy News.

“The defendant’s actions on January 4, 2024 when he abandoned Kane the cat outside the Saratoga County Animal Shelter after their regular business hours without any shelter are inexcusable and that is why we insisted he plead guilty to the charge filed against him,” District Attorney Karen Heggen said in a news release.

DiGiovanni testified to how the man’s actions impacted her family.

After the plea, DiGiovanni, surrounded by a group of supporters wearing shirts that said “Justice for Kane,” told media outlets that she would continue searching for her pet.

Later, she shared on Facebook that another couple had begun to encounter Kane without knowing it.

They fed him for over a month but couldn’t get close enough to tell if he was the missing cat. Finally, they were able to get him to come inside their home, and they believed they had the missing cat on their hands.

That’s when they gave DiGiovanni a call.

“When I first picked him up he started to purr so loudly,” DiGiovanni said on Facebook. “I went to see if it was in fact Kane and sure enough it was.”

She said she was overjoyed and brought him home, where he slept in her son’s room all night. She told WRGB that Kane was a gift to her son from his late stepfather.

“Thank you to every single person who took time out of their day to help research for Kane, who shared our story and who prayed and (sent) love loving and kind words and support,” she wrote on Facebook. “I meant it when I said we are not giving up on him and this is why.”

Saratoga Springs is about a 40-mile drive north from Albany.

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