Some cats are cat burglars, like this cat with a penchant for shoes.
In the case of Kate Felmet, 50, an ICU doctor in Beaverton, Oregon, her cat Esme has a fondness for gloves.
Ben Cost reports for the New York Post, June 14, 2021, that Felmet “devised an unorthodox way to pay penance for her thieving feline — by posting a sign asking neighbors to reclaim items snatched by her klepto kitty, Esme.”
Kate Felmet said, “The neighbors in my community know where to look for their stuff.” She had previously returned the items during door-to-door “apology rounds.” .
Cat burglar Esme’s scavenging spree began in the summer of 2019, when she began bringing birds and pieces of trash back to the house as gifts. Then, at the start of the Wuhan virus pandemic, Esme started curating her collections by retrieving discarded masks, amassing as many as 11 face covers in one day.
Felmet said: “It does seem like she has some sort of uncanny ability to bring on stuff that has to do with what we’re doing at the time.” Once, Esme brought her patient human tape and paint roller covers while Felmet was painting her daughter’s bedroom.
Beginning this past April, Esme turned to stealing gloves. Felmet said: “One week in late April, she brought two pairs per day. At the end of the week, I had 14 pairs, and I thought that if I didn’t do something about it I’d be swamped by the end of the summer.”
That was when Felmet posted the sign, which led to the return of 10 pairs of gloves, several masks and a running belt to their original owners. Esme recalled one time where a school bus drove by “and the guy got out and got a few things.”
In the case of one neighbor, Esme has stolen the same pair of kneepads out of their garage three times.
~E