Man steals three-month-old kitten as Valentine’s Day gift because he can’t afford it

A man who stole a three-month-old kitten as a Valentine’s Day gift has returned it with an apologetic note.

The mystery thief nabbed the cat from a Minneapolis PetSmart store on Friday – sparking a huge social media campaign by Ruff Start Rescue in a bid to trace him and feline.

But on Saturday the kitten was dropped off unharmed outside a different PetSmart store in a box.

A note apologised for the cat-napping and explained he stole it as a gift for the day of romance because he could not afford to buy it.

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Ruff Start Rescue has since posted CCTV images on its Facebook page.

A post below explains that a man had entered the store asking to look at cats. An enclosure was unlocked and he was later spotted by a member of staff holding an adult cat outside.

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An employee took the feline from him and returned it.

But after doing so, she noticed a different enclosure had been broken into using bolt cutters and the kitten, named Wednesday, had been snatched.