- It’s a little concerning how unbothered the school appears about this literal cat burglar.
It takes a special kind of crook to burglarize an elementary school. But the whole thing takes a whole other turn toward the sinister when the thief starts stealing the students’ underwear.
That’s the kind of criminal that was recently caught on video in New Zealand. It’s hard to be too mad at this panty thief, though.
After all, it turned out to be a cat.
For more than a year, somebody had been sneaking into the pool of Apanui School. Underwear, towels, and other things would disappear, with the staff sometimes finding them discarded elsewhere on the school grounds.
Finally, the school’s security cameras caught the pervert. It was a black cat that the school staff was able to follow to a nearby private home.
The cat’s owners have apologized profusely and asked the school not to name and shame their kitty. So, the criminal kitty is now known as Slinky Malinky in the school, and the teachers are planning to use the experience to teach kids to keep their personal property secure.
Missing Undies
The Apanui School is an elementary school located in Whakatane, a seaside town in northern New Zealand. For more than a year, the school has had a worrying problem.
Someone had been sneaking into the school’s pool facilities and stealing things. Very personal things.
Students’ underwear was going missing, alongside items like towels, swim goggles, and more.
“Initially we noticed single shoes and goggles and undies and towels left along the footpath into the school,” principal Marama Stewart told Stuff.
“Things would go missing or we would find a single shoe and never ever find the other shoe, which is very odd. If someone’s going to take your shoes, they generally take two.”
Yet, nobody had noticed any signs of a break-in or any shady people lurking around the school. Bizarrely, the school didn’t seem all that bothered about the issue, considering it was allowed to continue unimpeded.
As winter rolled in, the outdoor pool was closed for the season, and the panty thefts stopped. But, as soon as the weather warmed, the thief came back.
Caught Red-pawed
At this point, the school finally took action. After yet another theft, the staff decided to check their security cameras.
You can’t help but wonder why they didn’t do that before. Perhaps they did and saw nothing.
This time, however, the cameras caught the thief.
“When a pair of togs and a towel went missing, my office lady checked the cameras for our wee offender and he was witnessed,” said Stewart.
Yet, this wasn’t some human pervert sneaking into the school grounds. The video revealed a black cat dragging a towel along the school grounds.
Following the cat burglar’s trail, the staff discovered a stash of hidden treasures. The cat had been building a cache of stolen clothes behind the school’s PE equipment shed.
The school groundskeeper tracked the cat to a nearby house. After a chat with the owners, he confirmed that this was indeed their underwear thief. The cat’s owners had noticed it bringing clothes home, but they didn’t know where they’d come from.
“Can we say his owner wishes that he remains anonymous? We’re calling him Slinky Malinki,” said Stewart.
With the criminal revealed, the Apanui School now plans to turn the incident into a learning opportunity.
“I think we’re going to have a lot of fun writing stories about our own school’s Slinky Malinki. And it might help our kids to remember to put their things in their bag!”
Another Feline Thief
This isn’t the first time New Zealand’s cats have turned to a life of crime. A similar thing happened last year in Auckland, about 150 miles from Whakatane.
Helen North noticed that her 15-month-old cat, Leonardo, had started bringing home clothes he’d stolen from somewhere. The problem was that not only did Leo like undies, but he also had an expensive taste.
In addition to underwear, he brought home stuff like a nearly $200 cashmere sweater. On his most active days, Leo would steal up to 10 items.
With the pricey clothes piling up in her home, North had to embark on an embarrassing quest to find their owners. Essentially, she started going through her neighborhood and asking people, “Are these your panties?”
North expected her neighbors to be furious at her, but they were surprisingly good sports and laughed the whole thing off. They even gave the cat a new nickname — Leonardo the Pinchy.
Seriously, what is it about cats and stealing underwear? A bunch of perverts, I tells you.
Want to hear about yet another panty-stealing cat? Check out our list of 7 times animals committed strange crimes.