Literal cat burglar steals clothes from unsuspecting homeowners

By Claire Lomax & Douglas Whitbread via SWNS

A town is being tormented by a ‘cat burglar’ who has pilfered dozens of clothes from unsuspecting homeowners.

Taboo, a 12-year-old black and white cat, has nicked gloves, socks, underpants and shoes from properties across Otley, West Yorks.

Her owner, Sandra Danskin, 62, has now been forced to share regular pictures of the swag on social media so residents can claim their stolen items.

But the carer, who works night shifts, said sneaky Taboo is rarely caught and has become a relative ‘master’ of her criminal trade.

She said: “Whenever I come home from my shift there are all sorts of things waiting for me, either dragged in through the cat flap or left on the drive.

“This morning I had four pairs of socks and a pair of underpants. She loves bringing back items of clothing like that, but also we’ve had a mop head and kitchen rolls.

“We even had half a dozen eggs once, still in their box, but all broken.

"We think she must have taken them off someone’s doorstep when the milkman dropped them off.

“Somebody joked to me that I should train her to go and visit the nearest Rolex watch shop."

Sandra believes that Taboo steals clothes from people’s washing lines or sneaks into their houses if their doors are left open.

And she has so far only been caught once when a neighbor spotted her trying to take a T-shirt from his clothes dryer in the kitchen.

She also said the cat was quite fastidious and brings back a ‘full set’ of anything she managed to find.

Sandra said: “If she brings back a sock she will always go back and get the matching one so there’s a pair.

“I have a box full of stuff she’s brought for me and every now and then I go on Facebook and post a photo of it all so people can claim it.”

Sandra said Taboo was originally a house cat and belonged to her daughter, Gemma.

She had honed her craft by taking items out of the clothes dryer and putting them upstairs.

Eventually, Gemma could not bear with the kleptomaniac cat any longer, and Taboo went to live with Sandra and her three other cats.

Now the feline loves to let her current owner know when she’s pulled off a successful theft by emitting a signature howl.

Sandra said: “Whenever she gets something she sits outside and makes this high-pitched whining noise to let me know.

“I’ve tried talking to her about itm but she doesn’t change her ways. Underwear, socks, shoes… she just keeps bringing them.

“I can’t tell you how many pairs of gardening gloves she’s brought me. She also has a bit of a strange taste for pieces of wet cardboard.

“I’ve never heard of a cat doing anything like this before, and she shows no signs of stopping.