While most cat owners dread their pets bringing home mice, one New Zealand family faces a more unusual shame: their feline is a prolific thief.

Fifteen-month-old Leo, now known as Leonardo da Pinchy, has become a local celebrity in Mairangi Bay, a coastal suburb of Auckland, for his unstoppable “one-cat crimewave”.

And he’s got expensive taste. His frequent hauls include silk boxer shorts, thick men’s work socks and, in one mortifying episode for his humans, a brand-new $NZ300 ($274) cashmere sweater.

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“My daughter was at home sick and she rang me at work saying, ‘It’s bad, it’s bad, this is the worst thing he’s brought in, it’s really bad,” Leo’s owner, Helen North said.

“Because it was beautiful. I was like, ‘Ooh, can I keep that?’ But I couldn’t.”

Instead, North turned to a neighbourhood WhatsApp group to return Leo’s stolen goods to their rightful owners. Her usual message: “Are these your undies?”

But the pilfered stash kept piling up: socks (piles), underwear (loads) and even a stuffed snake (bizarre).

On one record-setting day, Leo returned with nine items, enough for a full outfit if you didn’t mind a mix of everything from baby clothes to menswear.

“He brought in a jersey this morning at 10 past 8,” North said. “The shops hadn’t even opened.”

With dozens of items unclaimed, the embarrassed owner took her search for Leo’s victims wider this month, posting photos of his hauls on a local Facebook page along with an apology and her address.

The anger North expected over Leo’s cat burgling antics didn’t eventuate — although one of his targets, who is allergic to cats, now dries her laundry indoors.

“All of our neighbours think he’s amazing,” she said. “Some of them are quite put out that he hasn’t actually stolen anything of theirs.”

Still, North has tried everything to curb her cat’s laundry obsession, from attempting to keep him indoors to leaving out clothes at home for him to steal. No luck.

“He only wants stuff that he shouldn’t have,” she said, adding that she was also unwilling to risk an online suggestion that Leo simply needed another playmate.

Leo’s life of crime began when he was first allowed outdoors a year ago. But his family hopes it’s just a juvenile phase.

“I hope he grows out of it because I don’t want to do this for like, 15 years,” North said. “This is a lot of admin.”

For now, on the streets of Mairangi Bay, Leonardo da Pinchy remains at large.