Meet Bo, the Taupō cat who has turned to a life of crime

A brazen burglar who broke into a Taupō home not once, but four times in a day, has a string of other burglary offences to his name, it has been revealed.

Now local residents are being warned to keep their stashes of small, plush toys secure as the prowler in question is still on the loose.

The offender is described as a handsome 2-year-old with cream fur with brown points, large ears and piercing blue eyes, and when he's on the hunt for easy pickings, none of the local teddies are safe.

What could he possibly want with his ill-gotten gains? Turns out, he likes to bring them home and play catch and fetch.

He's Bo, the seal point Siamese, and much to his owner Rose Batchelor's embarrassment, he regularly roams her Rangatira Park neighbourhood where he's been known to sneak into houses and make off with small toys that he brings home to play with.

Rose Batchelor with Bo the cat burglar and one of the 'hot' toys.

On one outing last weekend Bo found some easy pickings in a nearby house where new owners were moving in.

Upstairs in a loft were five small Pooh Bear-themed toys in a bassinette. Bo brought them home one at a time and managed to relocate Pooh, Piglet, Kanga and Tigger.

Spotted by an eyewitness as he spirited Tigger away, Bo was then disturbed in the act of pilfering Eeyore, who he was forced to leave behind on the doorstep.

Bo first turned to a life of crime three months ago when his owners Rose and Jeremy came home to find a teddy bear abandoned in the front hall. Neither knew where it had come from but figured Bo was the likely culprit.

Rose posted a photo of the teddy on a local Facebook page, where it was soon claimed by a mother who had had the teddy go missing from her house down the road.

Obviously thinking he was on to a good thing, Bo kept going back to steal other toys, which Rose said was "a bit embarrassing", although luckily the mother thought it was funny.

"We had to meet up every week to give the toys back.

"It's different things each time but the same size, something he can manage. He's never brought anything back that's too big to carry thank goodness, and it's always been toys."

Once he has the stolen items safely home, Bo will run around the room throwing the toys in the air with his mouth.

His other favourite game is for Rose or husband Jeremy to throw a toy for him which he will then retrieve like a dog, possibly to the displeasure of their actual dog Dexter, ironically enough a retriever himself.

His other main interest is socialising and often in summer he can be found at the end of the street saying hello to the people walking to the Waikato River.

"He's terribly social and hates to be on his own. He's really bonded with my husband, and the toys were for Jeremy."

Rose said Bo has always had his own toys, which he will play with for hours, so there's really no need for him to turn to crime for more.

Bo's sibling, Danny, luckily, has chosen the straight and narrow path. Rose says Danny's job is "just to be very good looking", a responsibility he takes seriously.

As well as Bo, Danny and Dexter, Rose and Jeremy also love birds and have an aviary which Rose says is like television for cats.

"They [Bo and Danny] sit at the aviary and watch for hours."