Tauranga's Cooper the cat clawing up chaos in The Lakes

Cooper the notorious cat burglar. Photo / Supplied

Many would think if a cat was challenged with climbing a six-foot (183cm) fence carrying a steel cap boot, the boot would win.

These same people may think no lone feline could collect eight pairs of shoes and bring them home in one night - designer only of course.

But a resident cat of The Lakes Cooper can prove all these claims wrong.

Cooper has managed to snatch quite the collection of shoes. Photo / Supplied

The slinky thief has become well-known in the area for his daily escapades where multiple pairs of shoes are brought home to owner Jacinda Massey.

Yesterday alone, Massey returned 15 pairs of shoes to their rightful owners and within a matter of months, Cooper has managed to wrangle more than 100 shoes in total.

So much so, Massey has put up a sign at the local Four Square to let the community know their missing pumps are likely at her house.

On a daily basis, Massey receives calls and messages from victims who come over to collect their shoes and usually leave with at least three extra pairs.

A nap after a hard day's snooping. Photo / Supplied

The 3-year-old Burmese ragdoll is nothing if not classy and only steals branded shoes in pairs including Timberlands, Nikes and steel-capped gumboots.

Massey says it baffles her how he drags them over the six-foot (183cm) fence surrounding their property.

Some would think the wise thing to do would be to lock him inside, but no, Massey has learned the hard way that this makes things much worse.

"He goes absolutely ballistic."

Just a day or two's work in Cooper's books. Photo / Supplied

Massey woke up to eight pairs of shoes scattered around the house one morning after Cooper had been locked inside the previous day.

Massey is convinced the pussycat uses his dashing good looks to woo his victims.

When asked the origin of his designer shoe addiction, Massey says she thinks he brings them home as a loving prize.

Little does he know, they cause quite the headache for her.

The tale is quite a rags to riches type as Cooper was originally a keen dumpster diver.

A nap after a hard day's snooping. Photo / Supplied

Massey said he used to bring home nail gun strips, full bags of nails and even resident's house build plans before shoes caught his eye.

Luckily for some Lakes residents, the Masseys along with Cooper are moving in the coming months.

Their new house is in Te Puna, a semi-rural area.

Massey does not believe this will be any match for the sneaky cat, but hopes the rural setting will deter him from shoes.

It did not go without worry about what he may dig up out there though.

"What on Earth is he going to manage to bring home out there?"

Funnily enough, Cooper also has a twin brother Monty, who lives with him.

One would assume the two would be quite the troublesome duo, yet this is not the case at all. Monty prefers to slink around the house, not the streets.