It's a purr-fect night for a heist.
February 28, 2011 1:27 AM   Subscribe

When the sun goes down, it's time to hit the streets. Dusty is a cat burglar.
posted by XhaustedProphet (27 comments total) 8 users marked this as a favorite
 
SLYT sorry.
posted by XhaustedProphet at 1:33 AM on February 28, 2011


If Charlene Butterbean turned to a life of crime....
posted by JHarris at 1:35 AM on February 28, 2011


Also, Animal Planet's series Must Love Cats covered this cat, and got footage of the cat red-handed. (They also visited the Engineer's Guide to Cats guys.)
posted by JHarris at 1:40 AM on February 28, 2011


Siamese are notorious thieves.

Back in the 70s, whole chickens were incredibly expensive in the UK. One day, my folks' cat came back dragging the next door neighbour's nearly defrosted bird, which they had planned to cook for Sunday lunch.

They were not amused. By that evening, my folks had worked out where the chicken had come from and the neighbours had worked out who had taken it.

To make it up to them, my mum took a chicken she had been keeping out of the freezer. She was looking after me, so she sent my four year old brother round with the chicken on a plate. It was Monday afternoon.

My brother knocked on the door. No reply. He knocked again, and heard some noise. He knocked a third time. The door swung open and there, red faced and clad in just his dressing gown was the husband, clearly annoyed that his afternoon athletics session with his wife had been disrupted. As he swung the door open and before he had a chance to see who it was he yelled "WHAT?"

My poor brother dropped the chicken and the plate there and then, turned on his heel and ran as fast as he could.
posted by MuffinMan at 1:49 AM on February 28, 2011 [4 favorites]


Thanks for beefing up my post, JHarris. This is my first one, and I'm learning!
posted by XhaustedProphet at 2:06 AM on February 28, 2011


I saw that cat doing an interview on Letterman the other day. I was impressed with how calm he was the whole time on his master's lap. Cute story.

cute post XhaustedProphet!
posted by dog food sugar at 2:34 AM on February 28, 2011


Cat anecdote - we used to have a cat we got when she was approx. 9 years so she had a whole life before us that we don't really know about. Every once in a while she would gather all my husband's socks under the dining room table (like 5 different pairs), hoover over them and make the saddest, loneliest soft howl. It was kind of heart breaking. What was poor Madame Snicker Lady ruminating about?

Cats. All kinds of wonderful mysterious weird.
posted by dog food sugar at 2:43 AM on February 28, 2011 [9 favorites]


No problem XhausedProphet! I happened to run into this stuff before and figured I'd contribute them.
posted by JHarris at 2:47 AM on February 28, 2011


Sorry, but why can't they keep the cat indoors at night?
posted by jcking77 at 2:47 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Obviously because "when the sun goes down, it's time to hit the streets!"
posted by XhaustedProphet at 2:57 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]


Also, Animal Planet's series Must Love Cats covered this cat yt , and got footage of the cat red-handed.

Ah yes. Norma was absolutely mesmerized by that segment. She does love her stories.

My Mom's cat, Mr. Sallypants, is a notorious thief. He doesn't go out marauding, but he steals everything in the house, and hides his ill-gotten booty in his super special secret stashin' place under the living room rug. Sure, it's funny when he's dragging My Little Ponies all over the place, but where is that pair of glasses you set on the nightstand?
posted by louche mustachio at 3:06 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


Hee hee! Look at Norma's tongue!

I think I've told the story on the site before, about my dumb cat Mabeline and her predilection for stealing the fuzzy socks I sleep in, more than once off my feet.

About a year ago, she discovered a little stuffed pig I made from cheap gloves during a crafternoon with friends and she was off to the races. We can't decide if she loves Piggy, thinks Piggy is a kitten, or is convinced that Piggy is her mortal enemy. She carries Piggy all round the house, yowling plaintively as she does so, but if anyone looks at her she drops Piggy immediately and pretends that she is just as surprised to see her as we are. I have surreptitiously watched her toss Piggy end-over-end down the stairs and found Piggy buried under stolen socks. If Piggy is downstairs when we go to sleep, she's guaranteed to be upstairs by the time we wake up.

Sometimes, I'm pretty sure I don't want to know what goes on during the secret lives of cats.
posted by sugarfish at 4:07 AM on February 28, 2011 [6 favorites]


Houdini, one of my parents' kitties, combines a tendency to kleptomania with a passion for interior design. He loves to take pillows, toys, towels, the cat beds, etc. and then move them to new locations. His most recent discovery is a big teddy bear, which he relocated from one end of the house to the other; he now regularly moves it from place to place in the living room. (My mother initially wondered if she were hallucinating the mobile teddy, until she finally caught the cat redhand--er, redpawed.)
posted by thomas j wise at 5:47 AM on February 28, 2011 [3 favorites]


Sorry, but why can't they keep the cat indoors at night?

Yeah, if I were one of the neighbors I'd be really annoyed by the owners' lack of responsibility. The cat's behavior isn't cute, it's exasperating.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 5:58 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


Well, that cat certainly got away with 3 minutes of my life. I wonder if they're piled up in that living room, too.
posted by bicyclefish at 6:38 AM on February 28, 2011


Just be glad you don't have a wolf:

"When Brenin was a young wolf, his favourite game was to steal cushions off the sofa or the armchair. If I was in another room, perhaps working in my study, he would appear at the door, cushion in mouth, and, when he knew I had seen him, he would tear off through the house, through the living-room, the kitchen and then out into the garden, with me in hot pursuit [...]

This all worked well for a while. However, when he got to be around nine months old, he decided to take the game to the next level. One morning, while I was writing in the study, I heard a succession of loud thuds from the living-room. Not content with taking the cushions into the garden, Brenin had decided it might be a good idea to take the armchair too. And the thuds were caused by his repeatedly banging the chair against the door frame as he tried to drag it through."
posted by MuffinMan at 6:58 AM on February 28, 2011 [2 favorites]


I have known a cat who would go "hunting" for objects and bring them back to me. She eventually figured out what got a big reaction, so she just dropped cigarettes (and once, half a marmalade sandwich) into my lap.
posted by The Whelk at 7:02 AM on February 28, 2011 [5 favorites]


It appears spanking doesn't work either.
posted by I love you more when I eat paint chips at 7:21 AM on February 28, 2011


The cat's behavior isn't cute, it's exasperating.
Can't it be both?
posted by Karmakaze at 7:45 AM on February 28, 2011


I'm pretty sure the phrase "cat burglar" really is only used in stories about cats that commit crime or other puns related to the phrase. I had to google it to figure out what it originally meant.
posted by NoraReed at 8:28 AM on February 28, 2011


the grappling hook wasn't enough?
posted by clavdivs at 8:31 AM on February 28, 2011


Conrad Blackcat has discovered a love for jewelry. In particular, he has discovered a love for the only piece of expensive jewelry I own, a shiny gold necklace with a dangling amethyst. At some point this is going to end very unhappily for me. (I usually take it off as I am in bed, half asleep, and choking myself with the necklace, so it's conveniently available for his thieving needs. He also steals my glasses, but doesn't take them very far.)

Other than that, all my cats are too lazy to steal. Why should they, as there are humans there to give them things?
posted by jeather at 9:18 AM on February 28, 2011


She carries Piggy all round the house, yowling plaintively as she does so, but if anyone looks at her she drops Piggy immediately and pretends that she is just as surprised to see her as we are.

One of my cats does this with socks. If she's alone (just outside of the bedroom door) she'll let out these throaty yowls that echo through the whole house. I call it kitty-yodeling. But if you open the door and look at her, she'll (even in mid yowl) stop and let out the quietest little interrogative "Meow?"

On a whim, I once took a phone, had it play a video of a kitten bawling and hid it in a sock, she got really, really excited and started acting very much like she does when she's going to sing, so I suspect that it's a caring-for-the-sock-babies behavior.

Usually she is interrupted by my Siamese who, not trying to steal the sock, charges out and whacks her in the head.

Despite being, by far, the smallest cat in the house, my Siamese is also the biggest bully. She picks on everyone.

Which is why she's also the best kitty in the house.
posted by quin at 9:19 AM on February 28, 2011 [6 favorites]


On a whim, I once took a phone, had it play a video of a kitten bawling and hid it in a sock, she got really, really excited and started acting very much like she does when she's going to sing, so I suspect that it's a caring-for-the-sock-babies behavior.

I am going to do this and it will be amazing.
posted by sugarfish at 9:30 AM on February 28, 2011


Sorry, but why can't they keep the cat indoors at night?

In the Letterman interview the owners say they have dogs who need to go out at night. They have a doggy-door and Klepto uses that.
posted by ericb at 10:13 AM on February 28, 2011 [1 favorite]


This used to be my favorite song. FLESH FOR LULU - Cat Burglar
posted by Sailormom at 12:04 PM on February 28, 2011


...they have dogs who need to go out at night. They have a doggy-door and Klepto uses that.

Too bad nobody makes something like a big comfy cage where the cat could spend the night.

Wankers.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 12:47 PM on February 28, 2011


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