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Cat Burglar Actually Stole Cat

By Christopher Coble, Esq. on January 06, 2016 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The phrase "cat burglar" normally refers a burglar who is as stealthy as a cat. Although, as FindLaw Senior Writer for Legal Professional Blogs Casey Sullivan pointed out, it could also refer to cats who burgle. Rarely, if ever, does it refer to a burglar who steals cats.

But one thief fits that description after breaking into a Pennsylvania man's home and absconding with his feline friend. Oh, and the thief turned off the heat as well. That monster!

Purloined Pinot

When 34-year-old Scott Nicolson returned to his home he knew something was amiss. "Everything is here," he realized, but "[t]he thermostat was off which is absolutely impossible, and that's when we knew something was really, really wrong." That really, really wrong thing was the absence of Pinot, one of Nicolson's two cats.

"There was no sign of him," Nicolson said, "Which was a little weird. We checked all his favorite spots and he wasn't there." Why steal a cat? Why steal one cat and not the other? Why steal nothing else in the entire house? Why turn the heat off? This crime of the century could stump law enforcement for decades.

The Purrfect Crime

While Nicolson and state police may be stumped by this stolen pet, it's far from the first time a fuzzy friend has gone missing. A New York man stole a Pomeranian from a pet store by putting the puppy in his pants, and a Florida man did the same thing. Yet another Florida man stole a blind woman's parrot. Are no one's pets sacred?

The thief in this case is certainly guilty of larceny and most state laws make larceny penalties dependant on the amount stolen. It may be tough to determine the value of a cherished pet, but Nicolson isn't worried about punishment right now. "I want my cat home," he said. "Failing that, I just want to know that he's safe."

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