A man plucked a kitten from a cage in a Minneapolis PetSmart outlet, but the thief soon had second thoughts, sneaked over to the Roseville PetSmart and dropped off the kitty with an apologetic note.

Police in Minneapolis say the catnapper was determined to flee with a feline, having twice cut the locks off cages Friday afternoon during the 12 minutes that he was in the PetSmart off New Brighton Boulevard in northeast Minneapolis.

Authorities said Monday they are still looking for the man.

The note, on the side of the box in which the kitten was returned, read: "It was going to be a Valentine's Day present and I had no money. I am sorry."

According to Minneapolis police:

Store video surveillance shows the man walking in with bolt cutters tucked under his jacket. He finds his way to the pet adoption section and snips the lock off a cage. He takes the kitten from the cage, but its howls attract an employee, who retrieves the animal. The employee soon saw another cage open — again, with the lock cut — and that cat gone. The video shows the man exiting the store, and it appears "he has something under his coat," a police report read.

Dennis McGrath, Star Tribune
For about a day, “Wednesday” was a captive of a man who grabbed her from her cage at the PetSmart in northeast Minneapolis.

The feline that was taken is named "Wednesday," an all-black, 3-month-old kitten that was being housed at the PetSmart on behalf of the Ruff Start Rescue organization in Princeton, Minn., as part of a pet adoption arrangement. Police valued the kitten at $150.

Ruff Start posted news about the case that day on its Facebook page, with images of the man included. By Saturday, the animal rescue group declared, "Wednesday has been found!!!" And she's doing fine.

Wednesday was left at the Roseville PetSmart in the box with the handwritten note.

"I really think our social media pressure forced him to do the right thing," the Ruff Start's Facebook page noted.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482