One of Whimsy's criminal underworld pals no doubt
Cat on camera: The feline burglar who has stolen more than 600 items from neighbours
When their possessions kept going missing a group of neighbours feared that a burglar might have been targeting them.
And when the thefts continued for three years they must have cursed the local police for failing to catch the crook.
But the mystery of more than 600 stolen items was solved when it emerged that the goods had been stolen - by a local cat.
Purr-fect crime: Dusty the cat burglar is filmed making off with a stolen glove from a home in San Mateo, California
On the prowl: Innocent-looking Dusty walks across a doorstep in the day after stealing items the previous night
Dusty the brown-and-white moggy has prowled the homes of residents in San Mateo, California, at night for more than three years.
It is estimated that the crafty feline has stolen more than 600 items including towels, gloves, shoes, socks, and children's toys.
Dusty even returned home with a bounty of 11 household items from nearby homes in a single evening.
And he especially likes to steal women's bathing suits. Recently, he took resident Kelly McClelland's bikini bottoms from her clothes line.
Naughty cat: Dusty returns home empty-pawed to his owners Jean Chu and Jim Coleman who believe he has stolen more than 600 items
Mog shot: One night Dusty returned home with 11 items that had been nabbed from people's homes
'He came back about 10 minutes later and took the top home,' McClelland told KGO-TV.
'So, yeah, we know him very well.'
'He always steals stuff,' Kelly's son Ethan, 5,said.
Fed-up neighbours started keeping their possessions locked away in case Dusty, who has been dubbed 'Klepto the cat', strikes at night.
Paw neighbour: Dusty drags a piece of clothing back home on one of his nightly crime sprees
Underwear: Dusty carries away what appears to be a woman's bra from a nearby washing line
His crime sprees emerged when The Animal Planet television show 'Must Love Cats' recently installed a camera outside the house. It captured his nightly forays for a week.
Neighbours keep a watch for the cat but his victims do not intend to file police reports. They say that when something goes missing they simply visit Dusty's owners, Jean Chu and Jim Coleman.
They believe that Dusty has stolen more than 600 items in the last three years, an average of four a week.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...tolen-600-items-neighbours.html#ixzz1E99rPV3i