Woman Discovers Her Cat's Been Stealing The Entire Neighborhood's Shoes

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They say love is not just words, it is actions, and as humans, we keep trying to show our loved ones how much we care for them. However, even animals are capable of being affectionate, and they have their ways of showing it. Cats have been known to present their owners with gifts, so we usually do not mind the occasional mouse. When one woman discovered her cat’s been stealing the entire neighborhood’s shoes, she realized she was harboring a burglar. Hence, it was time to do the right thing and return the 80 shoes to their rightful owners. Check out the story of Ross, and her pet burglar, Jordan.

It began with an odd pair of shoes

Ross is no stranger to finding weird things in her house because Jordan’s only way of proving to her how much he loves her is through snakes, mice, birds, and anything else that the feline can catch. However, his owner has had enough of the presents since Jordan graduated from bringing home animals to other people’s shoes. It all started with an odd pair that Ross found in her backyard, and she threw it away. However, Jordan must have felt that his human did not appreciate his efforts, so he started bringing in more shoes, going as far as three shoes per night. Ross threw a few more shoes away until it dawned on her that the shoes she found in her yard were presents from Jordan.

The feline’s stealing behavior prompted Ross to buy a GPS tracker to see how far the cat was willing to go to and bring her gifts. It has proven that Jordan will travel miles to keep his human happy. She even installed a security camera to have evidence, and as per the video, Jordan seems to look back to see if he has been followed before admiring his gift and entering the house. Unfortunately, he does not understand that he is not pleasing Ross despite his efforts to ensure that he has brought home matching shoes. Even when he does not get shoes, he never goes home empty-handed; he still finds other stuff lying around like baseball mitts to appease his master.

The task to return the items to owners

Ross may have thrown away the first few pairs she found in her yard, but now she is determined to help owners recover their footwear. Therefore, she created a Facebook page, Jordan The Feline Cat Burglar, where she announced her pet’s love for taking other people’s shoes. The group membership has grown significantly to 14,687 members; more than 10K joined in the last week. The account is not only attracting the victims but also fans that have fallen in love with Jordan. Regardless, it is still meeting its goal of returning the shoes because, by August 14, 2020, one woman had recovered her six pairs.

Jordan’s fans have become so thrilled by his stealing habit that as published on TheAnimalResuceSite.com, one young girl decided to “help” him by leaving her sister’s shoes out for him to collect. On Facebook, another went as far as drawing Jordan with a shoe as a tribute to Ross. Moreover, while Ross and her kitty are from Pennsylvania, Jordan’s story has attracted members from Brazil to tune in to the cat’s antics. He also has an Instagram account, which so far has 884 followers. However, even as Ross tries to have owners reclaim their shoes, Jordan is not stopping his habit anytime soon; in the last four days, he has brought home a pink flip flop and black boot.

Jordan is not the first cat burglar

In 2019, the New Zealand Herald published the story of Neko, a Japanese cat that Gemma Larsen adopted in 2015. Like Jordan, he used to surprise his owners with gifts, but once he wanted to up his game, he went for shoes. This first stealing incident was in 2017 when Neko stole shoes from their neighbor, and after Gemma returned them, Neko stopped his habit. However, his obsession with stolen shoes returned, and Gemma would find five shoes in her driveway. Although he seems to prefer the left-foot, he also likes presenting a complete pair sometimes. Gemma also created an Instagram page for the feline hoping that people would spot their stolen footwear and reclaim them.

While Neko and Jordan may have started their pilfering habits at a much older age, another cat named Denis was only six months old when he was let out of the house for the first time. Denis took it as an opportunity to show his potential in rewarding his mum for a job well done by bringing her stolen clothes. The following week, he continued his kleptomaniac habit by taking home a stolen Barbie doll. Unlike the other two who left their presents outside and waited to surprise their owners, Denis could not wait to flaunt his catch. He would, therefore, find his owner in bed and keep screaming until she acknowledged the gifts. His neighbors got used to his habits, and every time they realized something was missing, the first stop was Mrs. Newman’s house to ask if Denis had taken it. Fortunately, as she told BBC, none of them ever was angry at her or the feline.

Why cats keep stealing things

One reason for Denis’ behavior is that they want attention. As young as he was, Denis may have realized that Mrs. Newman paid attention to him most when he took something. Therefore even after bringing her gifts, he would ensure that she knew he had a gift for her by screaming for attention. However, besides attention and seeking play, sometimes the pilfering is an indication of a much bigger problem, Pet Central explains that if the behavior is out of the ordinary, your veterinarian could diagnose if there is a medical problem especially if he chews on the stolen items. Pica is among the conditions that make cats suck on inedible objects; thus, if you find your cat has taken your headband and is chewing on it often, do not be quick to conclude it is a cry for attention.

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