Cat Owner Pleads For Help After Lyft Driver Takes Off With Pet Still Inside

A distraught cat owner mobilized thousands of supporters online with increasingly panicked pleas for help over a period of days after a Lyft driver took off with his pet still inside the car.

Palash Pandey was taking his 2-year-old black and white cat Tux to the vet in Austin, Texas, on Saturday afternoon when his ride dropped him off, but the car drove away before he had removed his pet carrier. The pet owner says he screamed and chased the vehicle, even banging on the windows to get the driver's attention, to no avail. Pandey said the driver initially ignored his calls, but then later told him that he didn't know where the cat was.

Pandey's posts about the incident went viral on social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, and his dawning sense of horror was laid bare in a series of updates as he detailed his frantic attempts to track down his beloved animal.

Some 4 million people viewed his initial post online, which was shared more than 6,600 times by the early hours of Tuesday morning, and the story captured the public's imagination, with armchair investigators trying to help, X and Reddit discussions picking over the event, and TV news appeals for the missing cat. Pandey resorted to calling the police, and a Lyft boss later admitted the company's first response had been "awful."

After reaching out to the driver—identified only as Daniel— and Lyft's customer support through the app, Pandey messaged the company via X on Monday saying: "@AskLyft My Lyft driver drove off with my pet cat still in the car. I was taking my cat to a vet appointment, I was sitting behind the driver and had the cat carrier on the floor of the passenger side back seat."

He followed up with several more posts, adding: "I got off from the driver side door and started walking to the passenger side door to pick her up. Before I could open the door, the driver started driving. I banged on the back and passenger windows and screamed running behind him but he drove off.

"I tried contacting the driver through Lyft. They were not helpful at all. You can only send three messages and call the driver there times. The driver didn't respond for about 2 hours and then said that he didn't have her.

"I called 911 but they transferred me over to 311 and filed a report. I have not heard back from anyone yet. I don't know what else to do.

"The driver has stopped responding again and I don't have any way to contact him besides the app. I have offered him money for bringing her back but he just doesn't respond. Is there anyone who can help?! What else can I do?!"

Pandey shared photos of Tux as well as screenshots he claimed showed how the driver had been ignoring his calls and messages. He also shared a message from someone called Yasmine at Lyft's customer support services, which was very sympathetic—she said she was "a cat owner myself" and was working to get Pandey in contact with Daniel. But she concluded, "please note that if your item is returned by the driver, you'll see a standard return fee of $20 for their time and effort."

Pandey later tweeted again saying the driver had finally called him after being contacted by Austin Police Department. "He said that he drove off quickly because he got startled," Pandey announced on X, but the driver had picked up several people around Austin afterward and apparently didn't know where the cat was. Pandey appealed for his followers to "NOT DOX" the driver, adding: "I just want my cat back. I don't want a trial by Reddit for anyone. I'm going to pursue this through the proper channels."

The pet owner said he planned to retrace the driver's route to look for Tux, and speculated whether any of the subsequent passengers had taken Tux.

He told local news channel KVUE that he had just moved to Austin from Philadelphia and didn't know anyone yet, explaining that Tux has been "my one really, really good friend here." A spokesperson from Lyft told the station that the driver is "equally as devastated" and is co-operating with the company.

After an agonizing few days, overnight on Monday Pandey finally posted the news the internet had been waiting for: "The investigators from Lyft found Tux! She was at [a realty office in Austin]. They did not find her carrier." She was found at the top of a flight of stairs at the back of the building in Jollyville Road, he added.

During the search, internet users had done what they could to reunite Pandey with Tux; some messaged him with sightings while others reached out to Lyft on social media platforms to add their voices to demands for action. Many shared a 'lost cat' flyer Pandey had posted online. Pandey said that the support of the internet had "restored my faith in the community."

Lyft CEO David Risher had commented on the situation personally when an X user CC-ed him into her X post, describing the events as "absolutely appalling." Risher replied: "You're right. The initial response was awful. Since then, we've done a lot behind the scenes, but I know we haven't communicated enough. We're very focused on this and will keep the community up to date."

Ultimately, according to Pandey, it was investigators from Lyft who managed to find Tux.

Posting a longer update on Reddit, he said Tux is eating well, but "looks very tired, is covered in fleas and dehydrated." He also added that now she has been returned he hopes to "nail the POS [piece of s***] who stole her. I'm going to ensure that they go to jail." He didn't speculate who had taken the animal.

He also shared a photo of himself with Tux after the pair were reunited and added: "Thank you everyone for helping. You guys have restored my faith in the community."

It remains unclear how Tux became separated from both her carrier, and the Lyft vehicle she had been traveling inside.

Newsweek has reached out to Pandey on X and emailed Lyft seeking further information and comment from both.

Newsweek also emailed the Austin Police Department (APD), which became involved after Pandey filed a report. A spokesperson replied saying: "On Saturday, September 30, 2023, at approximately 9 p.m., APD Officers responded to a call about the theft of a cat. However, we were later informed by the person who filed the report that they had been reunited with their cat. This is an open investigation, no other information is available at this time."

Pandey is not the only cat owner lucky enough to be reunited with his pet.

This summer, a mystery was sparked when an Australian cat was found in Scotland, some 9,000 miles from home.

And a pet owner in Pennsylvania was shocked when a cat missing for 2 years casually walked in as though she had never been away.

And there were joyous scenes when CCTV captured a cat was reunited with his emotional owner.

Update 10/3/23 3:23 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a comment from Austin Police Department and an additional tweet from Pandey in which he shared a photo of himself with Tux after they were reunited.