Leo, a 15-month-old cat, has gained fame in his tranquil Mairangi Bay coastal neighborhood due to his habit of stealing laundry from clotheslines and homes, earning him the nickname Leonardo da Pinchy.

He’s known for his high-end loot: silk boxers, thick men’s work socks—even better with clothespins still on—and in one particularly embarrassing instance for his owners, a brand-new $NZ300 ($274) cashmere sweater.

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

“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 5-foot-long 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 8:10,” 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.

Those who showed up to claim their belongings included a woman who recognised her pink and purple underpants and a boy whose beloved and missing sports jersey was helpfully identifiable by his name printed on the back.

The ire 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.

“He might teach another cat to do this,” North said.

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.