A kleptomaniac cat has been caught in New Zealand, systematically stealing things from clotheslines
In Auckland, New Zealand, a local cat has become a real problem for the area – instead of mice or birds, it brings home other people’s laundry. His owners, who found themselves in the center of a curious situation, unwittingly became witnesses and participants in the regular thefts committed by their pet.
As informs Associated Press, the furry thief is named Leonardo da Pinci (Leo). His preferences are not food and toys, but things that are hung on the lines to dry: men’s underwear, socks, women’s underwear, and sometimes expensive clothes. Among the “trophies” they even found a cashmere sweater worth 300 New Zealand dollars (about 181 US dollars).
Surveillance cameras in the neighborhood repeatedly recorded the cat during “operations”, and sometimes Leo acted right under the noses of the owners of things. Due to his dexterity and obsessive desire to steal, he earned the nickname Leonardo da Pinci – an allusion to the artist and the word pinch, which means “to steal.”
To somehow remedy the situation, Leo’s owner regularly posts photos of things found in her home in local social media groups, trying to return them to their rightful owners. But the cat’s criminal instinct cannot yet be re-educated.
