But I thought it was catnip, officer

We've all heard about cats bringing home dead birds, mice and even odd things such as socks and underwear.

But a Halfway Bush cat has taken it one furry step further by presenting its owner with a 5g bag of cannabis.

Sergeant Reece Munro, of Dunedin, said police received a call from a woman in Ashmore St about 6pm yesterday, concerned her cat had left ''a bag of drugs'' on her front doorstep.

''It was approximately 5g of cannabis, which has a street value of between $100 and $150.''

The cat's owner was very pleased to have the evidence removed and Sgt Munro declined to identify the cat or its owner.

''You hear of cats bringing dead birds and rats home but certainly in my career I've never seen anything like this before.

''I guess you never really know who's keeping you honest these days, do you?'' Sgt Munro said the origins of the the cannabis remained a mystery.

''We will continue our investigation and look at having the plastic bag fingerprinted.''

He said there was perhaps potential to add feline cunning to the police armoury.

''We certainly have police dogs trained to detect drugs - this might be something police could explore in the future.''

-john.lewis@odt.co.nz