Dusty the Klepto Kitty
by Gail
(Boston, USA)
This has to be one of the funniest vids I’ve seen in awhile. It’s about Dusty, the kleptomaniac kitty, who scours the neighborhood in the dead of night and brings home all kinds of stuff.
Watch…you won’t believe it!
Gail
Hi Gail… thanks for showing us this. Loved the vid. But what is going on?
Can anyone shed some light on the motivation behind Klepto Kitty’s kleptomania?
A definition of kleptomania is “an irresistible urge to steal items of trivial value” (Wikipedia).
Well yeh…uhmm he (I think he is a he), is not strictly speaking stealing as he is not bound by human laws…marvellous. He can do as he pleases.
And I am not sure that all the items that he collects are trivial. Well they are trivial to him because he has no use for them!
But the act of taking and bringing back to his den human objects is of use to him, it appears.
It looks like he mainly brings back (or only brings back) objects that smell of humans, such as items of clothing.
I think he is surrounding himself with the possessions of neighbours to make himself feel more at home, more comfortable.
He is an outdoor/indoor cat so he visits the homes and gardens of neighbours. This is part of his territory and he wants to make the area as friendly as possible.
If he brings stuff back from these areas he is more in contact with these places in terms of scent – the smell of the place.
He may even rub against the objects when he has stolen them and brought them back.
This will make going to the place again a more pleasurable experience as it will feel more like home.
That is my guess and it is a pure guess. But I think I am on the right track….I hope.