calender_icon.png 2 August, 2025 | 7:23 PM

Leonardo da Pinchy: Cat who steals underwear

25-07-2025 12:00:00 AM

Most cat owners dread their pets bringing home mice or birds. But for the owners of one felonious feline in Auckland, New Zealand, there's a worse shame - being the unwitting accomplice to an unstoppable one-cat crimewave.

His prolific laundry-pinching from clotheslines and bedrooms in the placid beachside neighbourhood of Mairangi Bay has turned 15-month-old Leo into a local celebrity and earned him a new moniker. He now goes by Leonardo da Pinchy.

And he's got expensive taste. His frequent hauls include silk boxer shorts, thick men's work socks - preferably with clothespins still attached - and in one mortifying episode for his humans, a brand-new 300 New Zealand dollar (USD 181) cashmere sweater.

"My daughter was at home sick and she rang me at work saying, 'It's bad, it's bad, this is the worst thing he's brought in, it's really bad'," said Leo's owner, Helen North. "Because it was beautiful. I was like, 'Ooh, can I keep that?' But I couldn't."  

Instead, North turned to a neighbourhood WhatsApp group to return Leo's stolen goods to their rightful owners. Her usual message: "Are these your undies?"  

But the pilfered stash kept piling up: socks (piles), underwear (loads) and even a 5-foot-long stuffed snake (bizarre). On one record-setting day, Leo returned with nine items, enough for a full outfit if you didn't mind a mix of everything from baby clothes to menswear.

"He brought in a jersey this morning at 10 past 8," North said. "The shops hadn't even opened." With dozens of items unclaimed, the embarrassed owner took her search for Leo's victims wider this month, posting photos of his hauls on a local Facebook page along with an apology.

Those who showed up to claim their belongings included a woman who recognised her pink and purple underpants and a boy whose beloved and missing sports jersey was helpfully identifiable by his name printed on the back.