High-risk cat-egory prison

Do not be fooled by these innocent eyes – this three-year-old black moggy is a hardened criminal.

“Theo’s first theft was in the early hours when I heard an unfamiliar noise at the side of my bed,” recalls owner Anne Mchugh from Harold Wood, East London.

“When I turned on the light I saw he had eaten through a bag containing my last two brioche rolls which he had taken from the kitchen worktop and brought upstairs.”

Turns out Theo is rather partial to his baked goods.

“He managed a pack of flapjacks but dropped most of them on the floor. He’s had more success with my freshly baked muffins or lemon cake if I dare to leave them out to cool!” And you can’t blame the parents either. Anne says: “Theo’s brother, Tabby, would never dream of stealing food – if he fancies a nibble he pops out and brings home a mouse.”

And “in memoriam”, we hear about the unsavoury habits of another feline thief.

“We had a little cat called Kitty who’s no longer with us,” says Janet Follett from Basingstoke, Hants. “We kept a list of the things she brought home on her travels.”

This included numerous gloves, hair scrunchies, a slice of burnt toast, and even a huge dead crow. “Heaven knows how she got it through the cat flap,” laughs Janet.

But Kitty’s biggest present was a dead bat that she brought in for the family as a welcome home present.

“We think she must have brought it in on the day we went on holiday as it wasn’t hard to find under the sofa after two weeks!”

Who’s nicking the food in your house?

Email the worst offenders to siobhan.mcnally@mirror.co.uk

I steal freshly baked goods to fund my muffin habit