This Cat-Thief Has Stolen Countless Clothing Items From Neighbors’ Homes
Meet Leonardo da Pinchy, the literal cat burglar of New Zealand.
Yesterday, my friend’s mom told me that her cat is a “criminal.” Apparently, her bold kitty is prone to stealing meat from the sink while it’s thawing, which is incredibly uncool and inconvenient for all humans in the house. But is it a crime? Not technically; the meat belongs to the family in the house, as does the cat (yes, I am this cat’s attorney). But today, I came across a story about a cat in New Zealand who is a true criminal — a genuine thief, who is known to swipe items that do not belong to him, nor any of his humans.
His (apt) name is Leonardo da Pinchy, and he’s apparently been on more than one heist as of late, stealing his nearby neighbors’ clothes from their bedrooms and clotheslines. Per the Associated Pressopens in new tab, Leonardo (aka Leo) has absconded with the following: entire loads of underwear (including some probably very nice silk boxers), piles of socks (including thick men’s work socks), a sports jersey, and even a five-foot stuffed snake toy.
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Apparently, on one especially good-haul day, Leo brought home what the AP reports was “enough for a full outfit, if you didn’t mind a mix of everything from baby clothes to menswear.”
Maybe the most impressive of his loot? A cashmere sweater that retails for $181 USD. When the sweater showed up, Leo’s mom, Helen North, said the family was on high alert.
“My daughter was at home sick, and she rang me at work saying, ‘It’s bad, it’s bad, this is the worst thing he’s brought in, it’s really bad,” North said. “Because it was beautiful. I was like, ‘Ooh, can I keep that?’ But I couldn’t.” She adds: “He only wants stuff that he shouldn’t have.”
North told the AP that she originally consulted the local neighborhood group chat to help return items back to their rightful owners, sending messages like, “Are these your undies?” But as Leo brought home more and more, uh, treasure, she’s had to start posting on a local Facebook page so she could reach a greater number of people.
From those posts, a woman was able to claim a pair of pink-and-purple underwear, and a boy identified his favorite sports jersey. You’d think these folks would be thoroughly ticked off at Leo, but that does not seem to be the case. “All of our neighbors think he’s amazing,” North said. “Some of them are quite put out that he hasn’t actually stolen anything of theirs.”
OK, Leo, listen up: Time to get back to work! Some of your neighbors are feeling left out. Get your sticky paws back out on those streets, dude.
