Klepto feline gives new meaning to 'cat' burglar

SAN MATEO, Calif. (KGO) -- A cat burglar is on the loose in a Peninsula neighborhood. He is prolific and hard to catch; this burglar makes others look like amateurs.

Meet Dusty. By day, he is your average house pet. But when the sun goes down, it is time to hit the streets. Dusty is a cat burglar.

"He always steals stuff," neighbor Ethan McLelland said.

McLelland, 5, and other neighbors know Dusty by his alias -- Kelpto the Cat.

"She took my mom's swimming clothes," McLelland said.

Neighbors are on guard, but his victims do not intend to file police reports.

"No we haven't because we know where to go," one neighbor said.

They go to Jean Chu and Jim Coleman's home. Dusty belongs to them.

In the past three years, they figure Dusty has stolen about 600 items. He is not choosy; he will take anything that is not locked down.

"Towels, gloves, shoes, socks, little toys, children's toys," Chu said, listing some of the items that have turned up in their home.

Dusty's MO is always the same. He leaves home at night and returns with his loot in the early morning.

The Animal Planet television show 'Must Love Cats' recently installed a camera outside the house. It captured his nightly forays for a week.

Chu says Dusty's record take for one night is pretty amazing -- 11 items.

As the sun sets in San Mateo, the question becomes, which house will Dusty hit tonight? It is the purr-fect night for a heist.

UPDATE: 'Klepto' cat becomes household name worldwide

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animal, san mateo, crime, peninsula news, vic lee

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