The Weird and the Wonderful

Klepto kitty piles up the loot in Swiss town

Cat went from bringing home mice to stealing gloves, t-shirts; its latest obsessions: underwear and black socks

From: www.msnbc.msn.com

 

 

 

GENEVA — Forget mice. A Swiss cat named Speedy has an eye for finer things.

Speedy has stolen so much loot that its owner had to post leafletsthroughout a northern Swiss town saying "Help, our cat steals!" and inviting people to recover their missing things.

Margrit Geiger of Wiesendangen said her kleptomaniac cat switched three years ago from bringing home mice to stealing badmintonshuttlecocks, all to impress her teenage son.

Then the cat began specializing in gloves, scarves and T-shirts. The latest obsession: underwear and black socks.

Geiger told the Swiss daily Blick that the cat has nabbed more than 100 items, and the paper said Thursday some neighbors have already claimed items back.

"It carries everything through a hole in the shed, through the attic, straight to my son Daniel's room," Geiger told Blick. "Daniel is its absolute favorite person." Once it drops off what it stole, Speedy doesn't stop meowing until its owners examine the loot.

"If I don't respond, it starts clattering around," Daniel said to the newspaper.

Veterinarian Brigitte Buetikofer says animals steal to gain attention, so ignoring them is the best cure.

Speedy's North-American counterpart, Dusty of San Mateo, California, has swiped over 600 items from his neighbors.

His booty includes everything from gloves, towels, Crocs, swim trunks, and even a Giants cap.

Word of the Day

Kleptomania
 klep·to·ma·nia: \ˌklep-tə-ˈmā-nē-ə, -nyə\
Origin: 1820–30; klepto-  (combining form of Greek kléptēs  thief) + -mania
Noun
an irresistible impulse to steal, stemming from emotional disturbance rather than economic need

More Vocabulary

Booty: n. any prize or gain

Nab: v.  to seize suddenly

Leaflet: n. a usually folded printed sheet intended for free distribution

Loot: n. anything taken by dishonesty, force, stealth

Shuttlecock: n. a lightweight conical object with a rounded often rubber-covered nose that is used in badminton

Swipe: v. to steal