Meet the purr-fect cat burglar

Angus has stepped up his habit of bringing home toys, clothes and food, leaving his Napier owners bewildered. Photo / Supplied

By day Angus the moggy is sweet and relaxed but by night he becomes a mischievous cat - lurking and stalking, prowling the streets, seeking out clothing and nice things to eat.

Then he comes home to sleep with his new treasures and dreams of another evening adventure.

It may sound like a story from Lynley Dodd's much loved series about a thieving feline named Slinky Malinki, but this tale of a kleptomaniac cat is real for Napier woman Jenny Wishart.

"Angus had always liked bringing us gifts over the years," she said. "In the past he's brought us bread rolls, a toy skunk, kids shoes, a gumboot, pie wrappers, a box of pantyliners, a poi, a red fluffy dogs bone, and a half-eaten subway, to name a few."

It all started when he turned one, with the appearance of a few half-eaten bread buns, followed by bits and pieces from the rubbish can and eventually items of clothing.

However, he had become more prolific over the past week, delivering his bewildered owners two to three items a night.

"Over a period we would usually get a few things, but at the moment we go out in the morning and there's always fresh clothes.

"My husband went outside the other day and said, 'he's really excelled himself this week'. There was socks, a camisole, a hat - it's mostly children's clothes."

The clever cat even found a few things to fit Ms Wishart's two-year-old son.

"We always joke that he should at least bring us something that fits, and the other night he managed to get a pair of girls tights and a pair of boys board shorts that would probably fit my son. It's so funny that he's done it right before Christmas."

While the collection of mismatched gifts continued to grow, this cat burglar always covers his tracks and had never been caught red-handed.

"That's the funny thing, we have never caught him. Things just seem to appear, like a toy skunk which he just left in the hallway. He has this look of pleasure on his face like, 'look what I brought you,' he's just really chuffed."

Ms Wishart sent her apologies to anyone in Onekawa missing a few items of clothing and promised to put everything in a lost property box next to their mailbox for the rightful owners to collect.