Uber Eats Driver Accused of Stealing Family's Cat

An Uber Eats driver in California appears to have been caught on camera stealing a man's cat before he dropped off a food delivery to his neighbor.

Patrick Lewis, from Los Angeles, California, told CBS 2 on Sunday that his cat, Hog, was taken from in front of his house on Tuesday when an Uber Eats driver dropped off a meal from local restaurant The Counter to his upstairs neighbor.

Lewis initially didn't know what had happened to Hog as he walked around the area searching for the cat, but was then told by neighbors that they saw the driver pick up the pet during the delivery earlier in the day.

One neighbor told Lewis, who found Hog 18 years ago in Brooklyn, New York, that they saw the driver pick up the cat, while another resident looked at the footage caught on their security camera, which showed the woman taking the pet.

The video, obtained by CBS 2, showed the woman picking up the cat and putting it in a brown paper bag, before placing it inside her white car and finishing delivering the order.

Lewis said that it was "the weirdest thing, that she literally...she picks up the cat, throws her in and then drops off a delivery from The Counter upstairs, like just kind of...I don't know and then just drives off. She doesn't look like a stray. She's not a...she has a collar."

He has only watched the security footage once, explaining that he won't view it again as "for me, it's heartbreaking to see. That's my little girl being kidnapped pretty much. That's what it looked like to me."

The owner told CBS 2 that the cat is a popular part of the local community, as he has hosted drawing competitions of Hog with local children and seen them many make outfits for her.

He was given the receipt and first name of the Uber Eats driver by his neighbor and called the company in an attempt to try and get the cat back.

He said that he made it clear that he didn't want the driver getting into trouble, claiming that "we just want our cat back. That's all we want out of this."

In a statement to CBS 2 on Sunday, Uber confirmed that it had been in contact with Lewis and said: "What the customers reported is unacceptable.

"We are working to get the cat returned, stand ready to help in the police investigation, and will take the appropriate action against the delivery person."

Newsweek has contacted Uber and the courier for comment on the video.