Family thought their cat was obsessed with stealing pens all night — until they saw the sweet reason behind it

Cats are known for their quirky and unpredictable behavior. From jumping into boxes to knocking things off counters, their antics often leave us laughing or scratching our heads. But every now and then, a cat does something so strange that it becomes a memorable story shared by those lucky enough to witness it. One such story was shared by Reddit user u/JakeDC in response to a post asking for bizarre cat behavior stories.

According to Jake, their family had a cat with a peculiar habit; the cat would fetch pens in the middle of the night. It all started when the cat observed that Jake’s dad regularly used pens for tasks like writing checks, making lists, and doing the crossword puzzle. The cat, noticing this, seemed to think that pens were of great importance to Jake’s dad.

So, while the family slept, the cat would quietly roam the house looking for pens. It wasn’t just a casual grab; she would carefully collect them from around the house and bring them back, depositing them in the bed next to Jake’s dad. As a result, he would often wake up to find himself surrounded by an assortment of pens. Jake shared how his dad would not wake up to one or two but "about half a dozen pens next to him" each morning. He described the nightly pen-fetching ritual as a bizarre but endearing display of the cat’s thought process, as if she believed these pens were crucial to her owner’s happiness.

This surely isn't the first time a cat has displayed a quirky habit. In a funny incident that caught the attention of her entire neighborhood, Helen North’s cat, Leo, developed a strange obsession with stealing clothes. The then 15-month-old feline, living in Mairangi Bay, Auckland, quickly earned the nickname 'Leonardo da Pinchy' for his habit of sneaking off with not just random items, but expensive ones, like a $181 cashmere sweater. “Because it was beautiful. I was like, ‘Ooh, can I keep that?’ But I couldn’t,” North joked. As the pile of stolen clothes kept growing, she started asking her neighbors, “Are these your undies?” in the local WhatsApp group. Leo even once dragged home a 5-foot-long stuffed snake. Though she tried keeping him indoors, North admitted, “He only wants stuff that he shouldn’t have,” and the neighbors absolutely loved him for it.

These pet animals never fail to bring a smile to our faces, and that is exactly what another amusing incident did. Ashleigh Hertzig, a woman with Albinism, had her guide dog, Yuri, sneak away with a peanut butter jar while she wasn’t paying attention. Using her blindness to his advantage, Yuri carefully trotted off like a skilled thief. The incident was captured on video, showing his mischievous and cautious movements.