Rescue Cat Has Been Living Secret Life of Crime, Owner Finally Catches Him on Video

By Amanda Thomason January 26, 2019 at 2:33pm

Cats require a special kind of understanding from their owners. They’re not all affable and good-natured, and the people who love them generally love them for all the reasons dog people do not like them: Felines are independent, self-possessed and do what they want when they want.

They don’t make excuses for themselves, they simply do things. And oftentimes, the things they do make no sense to us or are simply aggravating.

They stare at an empty corner of the room for hours on end, and they suddenly start tearing around the house after dark. They push things off tables, and they are known to have streaks of thievery.

Some of the thieving makes sense. There are many instances of opportunistic critters snagging slices of pizza, sausages and even donuts from their unsuspecting humans.

While house cats are generally fed pebbly bits of specially formulated food, at their core they are still hunters. They still need the opportunity to snag their “prey.” And who wouldn’t take a hot slice of pizza over dry kibble?

But some stealing doesn’t make practical survival sense. To the outside observer, some cats appear to steal just for the pure thrill of it.

There have been stories of indoor/outdoor cats hoarding non-edible odds and ends: gloves, toys and other clothing items. But this cat from New Zealand has a penchant for papers.

Max was once a feral cat before he was taken in by a kind-hearted woman named Jade Jefferies. Unbeknownst to her, he was a bit of a miscreant and started dragging the neighbors’ newspapers to her house.

At first, she didn’t understand why the papers kept appearing on her property. She told The Dodo that the odd sightings started about a year ago, and as they continued she started to notice a pattern.

“They always have teeth marks in them,” she said. Little rips and tears on the papers’ surfaces — not exactly the sort of thing even a careless paperboy would be responsible for.

One day she happened to look out the window at just the right time and realized she’d been harboring a criminal all along.

She managed to capture his behavior on video, and now the world knows that Max is a paper-stealing kitty. It’s okay, though, he’s still loved even if he is naughty, and Jefferies even suspects he’s bringing them as “gifts” of thanks for her taking him in.

“I’ve always had a feeling it was him,” Jefferies said. “He has a very unique personality.”

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