CAT BURGLAR BECOMES SOCIAL MEDIA SUPERSTAR

A four-legged feline has gained huge popularity in his local community and across the globe for all the wrong reasons.

When the sun goes down, Kylo the ginger tabby transforms into a cat burglar.

He sneaks out every night, prowling the neighbourhood on the hunt for tantalising treasures.

He has now been dubbed “the pirate kitty” after stealing everything from socks and school shirts to blankets and toys.

“He brought us a school shirt, a lot of dog toys, a cleaning sponge,” Kylo’s neighbour, Kay McCall, told A Current Affair.

Ms McCall said although it must have been difficult, because their house is fully fenced, the cat has also brought her a “huge” teddy bear and a football.

“It was kind of like waking up to presents on Christmas morning,” she said.

While most would stash their loot, Kylo leaves his on show in Ms McCall and her husband Tom’s yard.

“We thought the kids next door must have thrown them over. Didn’t think much about it but the toys continued to come,” Ms McCall said.

Then early one morning the couple caught Kylo in the act.

But it didn’t deter the thief from carrying out his nightly routine.

“He continued to bring us presents. Sometimes there was one, sometimes there were as many as four,” Ms McCall said.

Within a month, they had an entire table full. Curious to find out where the belongings had come from, Ms McCall decided to take photos and then posted them on the local community Facebook page, where she asked people to let her know if any of the items were theirs.

“People weren’t so much interested in the toys as the cat,” Ms McCall said.

It turned out other residents had been visited by the pirate kitty and were intrigued to find out what he might take next.

Ms McCall started posting updates of the tabby’s treasure hunt and hundreds of online fans began following the tale.

Ms McCall also tracked down Kylo’s loving owners, who admitted they were at their wit’s end.

Kylo’s owners tried everything they could to keep the pirate kitty from roaming the neighbourhood for more loot — even putting him in a mammoth outdoor enclosure, which he quickly escaped from.

The only solution was to find him a new home.

Luckily, nearby resident Ingrid Moyle was happy to help.

“I was a fan of Kylo from the very first post that I saw on the local community Ridgee Didge page … and so Kylo joined our household,” current owner Ms Moyle said.

He then strictly became an inside only cat.

Ms Moyle said it took him about a month to adjust but once he was settled in, his late-night tricks returned.

“Normal cats will bring you usually a half-chewed mouse, but he decided to do something different,” Ms Moyle said.

“It could be a duster, it could be socks, it could be anything that’s dragged up to the top of the stairs … and he sits and waits for us to wake up in the morning so we can all admire his gifts.”

To avoid Kylo stealing more things, Ms Moyle decided to buy him a whole basket full of goodies which she empties on the floor for him.

“Every night he’ll choose some of the toys … his favourite toy of course is the elf on the shelf and that gets dragged pretty much every night,” Ms Moyle said.

Ms Moyle now takes photographs of what Kylo brings home every day and puts them on Instagram with the feline’s antics attracting a lot of attention.

His Instagram account has gained 800 followers in less than a month, while his Facebook has more than 1000 followers.

“Being my cat’s secretary was not on my 2022 bingo card at all,” Ms Moyle said.

“He thinks he’s a bit of a superstar.”