Pet owner apologises after cat steals £300 hoard from neighbours

A woman is having to return hundreds of pounds worth of items that were stolen by her pet cat.

Real-life cat burglar Harry wanders into neighbours’ homes on a weekly basis helping himself to food and clothes.

Over the past four years, the naughty feline has brought home a hoard of stolen goods through the cat flap including a purse, sausages and M&S sports bras.

Owner Donna Hibbert, from Darley Abbey in Derby, said he has even managed to pinch items off washing lines.

“So my cats are thieves and have brought many objects through the cat flap over the years – a baseball cap, sausages, cat meat pouches, slippers, socks and even a shoe,” she posted on Facebook.

“I do often wonder if anyone has seen them running along with such items in their mouths and what they make of it,” she added.

Ms Hibbert believes the stolen items are presents from Harry who has pinched six items in the past week alone.

His brother Luna also brings home objects that tend to be far less problematic, such as empty cigarette boxes and crisp packets, Ms Hibbert told the BBC.

With a natural instinct to hunt prey, cats are known for presenting their owners with dead animals, an act that they perceive as kindly sharing their spoils among the family.

‘We had a purse the other day’

While Ms Hibbert is grateful for her pets gifting objects rather than birds or mice, Harry’s preferred approach poses a challenge of its own.

With a growing stash, she has now taken to Facebook in a bid to return the items to their rightful owners.

“I thought I best start posting the treats on here because somewhere there is someone thinking they have gone mad with misplacing things. You haven’t,” she said in a post.

“It’s my cats and I can only apologise. If the belongings are yours and want them back, do PM me.”

Ms Hibbert estimates Harry has stolen around £300 worth of goods, with an apparent taste for luxury.

“There was a red shoe, and it was quite an expensive brand,” she told the BBC.

“The sports bras are from M&S so they are not going to be cheap. We had a purse the other day but nothing was in it.”

People have already started to come forward to claim lost items that she has shared via the Spotted: Darley Abbey Facebook page.

“They are off my washing line. I keep buying new sports bras,” one person responded, adding: “just the tops, the bottoms may be another neighbour”.

Harry is not the first cat to be called out for his tendency to steal from neighbours.

Charlie the “Klepto Cat” also left his owner in an unusual predicament with the items he brought to their door in Bristol.

The black and white cat has taken home everything from plastic dinosaurs to rubber ducks and even skateboards.

Owner Alice Bigge took a different approach when trying to return Charlie’s stolen goods.

In an attempt to discipline the kitten, she lined up the items on the wall in front of their house with a sign which read: “Our cat Charlie likes taking things, do any of these things belong to you? If they do, please help yourself.”