An unemployed Japanese man, Mamoru Demizu, stole about $187,000 over 32 times so he could afford to feed his 120 cats a gourmet diet.
Police said that he would spend about $242 a day to feed the cats, The AFP reports. "He said he felt happiest when he rubbed his cheek against cats," an officer said.
"He would give them fresh fish and chicken, not cheap canned food."
When police arrested Mamoru, he admitted to what he had done, reports The Asahi Shimbun. He kept 20 of the cats in his home and in a rental storage space. Police note that he also would feed about 100 stray cats located between about 10 different locations. He would go out late at night to feed them.
"The number of cats I fed gradually increased, and I ran short of cash," Mamoru told police. So he would break into the houses, often using unlocked windows or finding emergency keys to get in.
He started keeping cats in 2010 and after losing his job a year later, he used money from a woman he lived with to keep feeding the 120 cats.
image: Wikimedia Commons
