thedodo.com
Kleptomaniac Cat Won’t Stop Stealing Vancouver Neighbors’ Stuff
Stephen Messenger
8-10 minutes
This is Bella — a long-haired tabby cat with a very sweet and affectionate spirit. For the past 10 years, Bella has been a delightful companion to her owner, Shawn Bell, simply by being her loving self.
Not long ago, however, she began to reveal one not-so-positive aspect of her feline personality.
Shawn R. Bell
Turns out, Bella’s a thief.
Shawn R. Bell
Bella’s foray into a life of crime seemed to have begun spontaneously last summer. One day, much to Bell’s surprise, he noticed his cat arriving to their home in Vancouver, Canada, carrying a sock. The next day, she brought home another. The day after that, yet more socks.
On the fourth day, Bella came in carrying a child’s drawing, apparently just to mix things up a bit.
Here’s a photo of the cat’s first haul:
Shawn R. Bell
Where those items had come from was anyone’s guess, though Bell was sure of one thing: They weren’t his. Bella had presumably stolen them while out on her evening prowls. And she didn’t stop there.
That summer, Bell filled half a garbage bag with purloined clothes. But in recent months, Bella’s thieving ways have only increased.
Shawn R. Bell
“She used to just come home with one piece of clothing per night,” Bell told The Dodo. “Now she is coming home with two or three a night — or more.”
And all those stolen clothes have been really piling up.
Shawn R. Bell
Bell has posted signs around his apartment building in hopes of reuniting the garments with their rightful owners, but to no avail.
He’s been piling them up on a chair outside his place, just in case someone recognizes their stuff.
Shawn R. Bell
The whole thing has Bell feeling sorta guilty — and a little uncomfortable.
“It sucks to have to keep buying clothes if they keep going missing,” he said. “Then there is the issue of the undergarments and her starting to make me look a bit weird.”
That’s right. Bella’s been stealing people’s unmentionables, too.
Shawn R. Bell
Bell hopes that, as word spreads about his cat’s ill-gotten gains, the person or persons Bella has been stealing from will come forward to reclaim their laundry.
The cat, meanwhile, has yet to see the error in her saddling her owner with stolen goods.
“I think she’s proud of herself,” Bell said. “But she’s not picking the right size or the right gender for me.”
Still, Bell admits he adores Bella regardless.
Shawn R. Bell
“She’s my girl no matter how bad her behavior is,” Bell said. “I guess she has my unconditional love, even though she’s a kleptomaniac.”
https://www.thedodo.com/close-to-home/canadian-cat-thief-wont-stop-stealing-laundry
"OUR WORLD" 
I read somewhere that cats bring things such a food to their owners because they think that they can’t take care of themselves…perhaps this kitty wants to change up her owner’s style? Either that or start some kind of store…
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Anything’s possible when it comes to kitty cats.. I think Bella is trying to be a Matchmaker, she must have found a lady in the neighborhood that she likes a lot and she wants her and her master to meet… he should have a yard sale, that will make the neighbors come!
My cat brought me a live mouse, as soon she came in the door she put it down, it went running straight under the china cabinet that weighs a ton,I had to go get our husky too get on one side of the cabinet, and Misty was barking up a storm so it ran out towards me, I grabbed it, as I was walking by her to take the mouse back outside, Holly was sitting in the doorway with a little smile on her face head tilted and she looked at me like ….good job Mom, wasn’t that fun.🐱
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Oh, boy. I love it when cats and dogs get along because the dogs are delighted to have a friend and the cats use the dogs to create chaos! BTW you are so cool for grabbing a mouse mid-dash! I can’t even keep up with my cat when she steals something (usually an ice pop wrapper) from the trash!
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LOL… 🐱❤️🐺
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I like that idea of match-making. Those shoes are expensive. Your experience supports my belief that cats aren’t a solution to the problem of mice! At least those in the house aren’t. I had read that terriers are better. Now I have heard of everything. I have heard of people’s cats dropping dead mouses at their feet. I have heard of someone’s cat catching a house mouse and throwing it up in the air in front of the TV. I have watched the neighborhood cat hit a poor mouse over the head, torturing it. At least your cat learned your respect for life. And, at least you caught it. How did you catch it? By the body or tail? It didn’t bite it seems?
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Forgot to say that I am grateful that I never saw any of my cats with a mouse. Maybe because I dragged the dog’s leash (without the dog) as a child to keep them entertained. I thought I had faked out my cat and that it thought I had a snake. I didn’t know they just liked string. Any mouse catching tips are most welcomed as we are getting into that season.
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The rats are getting so bad in New York, while people are eating the rat’s run through the restaurant, a group of people that have small dogs like Terriers, let their dogs loose in the alleys by the dumpsters and they kill the rats.
I grabbed a pair of my gardening gloves and I moved the one chair out of the way, because they like to run close to the wall, I knelt down right past the corner, just as it was at the corner is when I made my move because I knew it would freeze when it saw me, I took both hands and just scooped it up, poor thing was so scared it was trembling I could feel its heart pounding, it didn’t try to bite…I put it in a bucket and carried it outside.
I could write a book on the mischief those two did… like the time Holly dropped a live mouse in bed with me 😵 the next day my husband was out patching up holes around wires from the garage to the house. Him🙄…Me 😬
‘Tomcat’ live catch mouse trap, the back comes off to put peanut butter…apparently mice like peanut butter a lot, when they go in to get the peanut butter the front closes down, check your traps the next morning if it’s close pick it up and see it if it has any weight, one took me several tries to finally catch the little bugger, apparently it was big enough it didn’t have to go all the way in to get the peanut butter, I put the trap in a bucket, I take mine out to the field and let them go, the one that I had a hard time catching was the funniest one of all, I opened up the back and was shaking and shaking and nothing came out I turned it over to look in, he pops up, looks at me like hi, jumped out and took off….Electronic Pest repeller, I have one plugged in out in the garage, one on the first floor and one in the basement..I did have one on the second floor but that one stopped working and I never bothered to replace. The big box stores have two in a package for about 20 bucks, the new ones are nice and small and they seem to be working.
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An interesting collection LOL
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Indeed… my favorite is the one shoe. 😂
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Thanks for these stories! It didn’t show me the response and I wondered because I knew you would answer.
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No problem… Good luck on keeping the mice out of your home…🐭
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