SURVEILLANCE VIDEO: Break-in at beloved Cat Town Cafe in Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. (BCN) -  Cat Town, the beloved cat cafe and adoption shelter in Oakland, suffered a break-in last week, but there was a silver lining: A dramatic cat rescue.

The intruder was captured March 15 on video throwing a brick through a window and entering the shelter at 1:22 a.m., said Ann Dunn, executive director of Cat Town. "He was trying to get into the cafe next door."

 Cat Town is an adoption center next door to a cafe, "which is what makes us a cat cafe," Dunn said. RAWR Coffee Bar is the entry point for Cat Town, a nonprofit cat rescue organization.

 Workers at the shelter found a boarded-up window when they reported to work at 7 a.m. Friday, Dunn said. She said police responded within minutes of the break-in and arranged for the window to be boarded up.

The suspect didn't get anything, but two cats escaped through the broken window, Dunn said. They have both since returned, according to the cafe: Nadia was found at a nearby construction site and was returned covered in mud. London had been hiding inside the cafe. 

 "As soon as we found out about the break-in Thursday morning, we went next door to the construction project next door and told them we had a missing cat," Dunn said.

 About two hours later, a worker from the project showed up with the mud-caked, soaking wet cat in his arms.

 "He got bitten trying to rescue her, but he persisted," Dunn said. 

The cat, a six-month-old black and white tuxedo cat, had wedged herself into a corner, but the worker was able to get her out.

 "She was so muddy, I didn't even realize what he (the worker) was carrying when he showed up," Dunn said.

 Unlike the construction worker, the cat was unharmed and has happily rejoined the approximately 23 other cats at the shelter. Cat Town has about 90 cat clients at present, Dunn said; the others are with foster parents.

The nonprofit now must raise money to replace the windows, which are vulnerable to another break-in, Dunn said. Donations can be made on the Cat Town website at https://www.cattownoakland.org/.