Watch: Cooper the 'cat burglar', responsible for Christchurch crimewave, strikes again

February 21, 2019

Hundreds of items have gone missing, but arrests are hard to make when the culprit is a cat.

A North Canterbury couple are doing their best to right the wrongs after a two-year crime spree committed by their cat.

Three-year-old Cooper was adopted in 2017 and found his home with the O’Donnell’s in Rangiora. Since then he’s gone on to steal hundreds of shoes, soft toys and odds and ends.

"The first week we had him he stole quite a lot in one night. Probably about seven shoes in one night and it kept progressing every day," Cooper's owner, Jacinta O'Donnell, told 1 NEWS.

His targets aren't limited to small goods either.

"Full sized gumboots, I don't know how he does it, and the roller blade was even heavier than that," Ms O'Donnell says.

Despite finding owners for many of the items, The O’Donnells are still trying to find out who more than 130 items belong to.

He’s believed to have collected the items from around the neighbourhood, with some robberies committed more than a kilometre from his house.

Trespass hasn’t been a barrier for the klepto cat either, sometimes sneaking into homes to take items. He’s also been known to revisit past victims after they’ve reclaimed their property.

Anyone who recognises any of Coopers Ill-gotten gains can contact his owners here.

Watch Cooper in action, and view his massive haul of ill-gotten gain in the video above.

SHARE ME