Mt Eden cat ventures out in the dead of the night and steals underwear.
Remember Mo, the cat who has been stealing underwear from clotheslines around Mount Eden for more than two years?
Mo needs your help.
A couple of days ago, the Auckland cat, famous for his thieving ways, was struck by a car near home.
In fairness, he was probably out huntingfor clothes that do not belong to him, as has been his habit for years, but nothing that deserved this tragic turn of events.
According to his owner, Ed Williams, Mo "totally shattered his back leg".
"Sadly, Mo's bra-stealing days have come to an abrupt halt, after being hit by a car the other day, badly shattering his humerus [upper back leg] ... in many places."
Mt Eden residents suspected a 'creepy thief' had been stealing their underwear off the clothesline. That thief was Mo the cat. Photo / Supplied
"As very doting owners, we didn't want to give up on him and have it either amputated or worse, so we've gone with the only option of trying to fix it up. He has a very good chance of a full recovery," Williams said.
Mo has been staying at the emergency vet in Mt Albert where he will undergo surgery this weekend.
His owners, Ed and Grace, are now trying to find the $7000 needed to pay for the operation and, as Mo needs the surgery in the next couple of days, they need to come up with the money "as soon as possible".
"Mo obviously has pet insurance, however, it only covers a small fraction of the cost of such a specialist and detailed surgery - with veterinary bills being very expensive here in NZ. The total cost for everything is expected to be nearly $10k," the family said.
Can you help Mo get back on his mischievous feet? Photo / GoFundMe
They have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Mo's "$7000 new leg".
They raised $800 in the first hour, which was very promising, but still have a way to go to their final goal of getting Mo "back on his mischievous feet".
Mo was featured in the Herald last year after his owners discovered he was the one responsible for a spate of clothing thefts around the neighbourhood.
"We saw Mo run across the road with a T-shirt in his mouth. We put two and two together that it was actually Mo bringing all the clothes over," his owner said at the time.
Mo's stash from his crimes has included Calvin Klein underwear, t-shirts, pants, socks, undies, bras and other designer labelled clothing. Photo / Supplied
"We've had him for two years and it's been happening since day one."
It's going to be a long couple of months for Mo, who will have to stay away from his usual life of petty crime. The recovery process takes eight weeks and Mo will most likely have to spend most of that time in a cage.
In the meantime, Mt Eden neighbours can safely hang their undies outside to dry for a while.
