Cat owner baffled by pet's swimming goggles antics

Sally Bell is sure Avery, aged four, is stealing the goggles as gifts for her. She is keen to return them to their rightful owners

A cat owner has been left mystified after her pet began bringing home a new type of "gift" - swimming goggles.

Sally Bell says Avery has always brought her small animals but in recent weeks has switched to stealing underwater eyewear.

The feline felon has so far deposited eight pairs at her Bristol home.

Despite checking with all her neighbours, Mrs Bell said she had no idea where they are from.

"He's always been a hunter, bringing home mice and frogs and things like that," she said.

Three weeks ago, four-year-old Avery returned with a pair of goggles.

Mrs Bell said: "It was just one pair and I live in a close and there are quite a lot of families with children so I didn't think anything of it."

Three days later the pilfering puss produced another two pairs.

'Quite a celebrity'

"That's when it became really strange," added Mrs Bell. "For a few days it was a pair every day.

"I went round all my neighbours who've got children. One of the houses has a swimming pool so I thought it was bound to be them."

But nobody in her part of Longwell Green in east Bristol reported missing any goggles.

Mrs Bell believes Avery is taking the goggles as gifts for her.

"He doesn't play with the goggles, he just leaves them for me. In fact, the pair he brought home the other day had a dead mouse with them - two presents at once."

"I feel so bad in case it's children who are being brought new goggles and they're getting into trouble because they keep going missing."

Mrs Bell put an appeal out on social media to try and reunite the owners with their eyewear.

"All people do is laugh. I've had no takers but Avery has become quite a celebrity," she said.