A 14-month-old Tonkinese cat in New Zealand named Leo has earned a cheeky new title — “Leonardo da Pinchy” — thanks to his curious hobby: stealing neighbors’ underwear.
Owner Helen North told Radio New Zealand that Leo has brought home “about 150 pilfered items in the past nine months.” She added, “He brings home a lot of things. He doesn’t do much with them once they are inside, he just dumps them on the floors and just goes about his business.”
A Thief With No Preference
Leo has a particular fondness for undergarments, but his loot isn’t limited to just those.
“A really expensive jersey with the tags still on, stuffed toys, loads of underpants and socks, gardening gloves, activewear, hats, sports bras, shorts, East Coast Bays rugby socks, an All Blacks jersey … everything, really,” North told Stuff.co.nz.
And Sundays seem to be Leo’s favorite day to strike. “That’s when the neighborhood clothes lines are the most populated with easily-reachable clothing items,” North noted.
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Not Just a Burglar, But a Menace Too
Apart from his thieving escapades, Leo exhibits typical kitten behavior. “Other than that, well, he’s a kitten — so he attacks everything, bites you, and wakes you up in the middle of the night,” North said.
Returning the Goods
To manage the flood of stolen treasures, North relies on local social platforms. She said she uses “a local Whatsapp group and Facebook groups to help her neighbors reclaim Leo’s ill-gotten gains.”
Among Leo’s most memorable hauls? “The largest thing Leo has brought home was a 5-foot-long stuffed snake,” North shared. “He brought that home twice so he obviously really really liked it,” she added.
Sources:
- Radio New Zealand
- Stuff.co.nz
