And on Tuesday morning, when his neighbour Sue Lloyd's newspaper was thrown down on her Pine Hill, Dunedin, driveway in front of him, he could not resist.
He dragged the plastic-wrapped Otago Daily Times 60m home to his house, through the cat-flap and into the hall, where he ripped off the plastic and left the paper lying on the floor.
His owners, Hayley Horwood and Sam Knight, found it there about 7am, a bit scratched up, but still readable.
Next door, Mrs Lloyd was waking up none-the-wiser. Upset to find her newspaper had apparently not been delivered, she rang the ODT office and ordered another, but just after it was delivered, she received a visit from her neighbours with a confession about their cat-burgling kitty.
Miss Horwood said it was likely Alfie, a 1-year-old tabby, whom they'd adopted from the SPCA as a kitten, had seen the paper being thrown on to the drive and brought it home.
''He plays fetch better than any dog. He'll bring stuff to you and plonk it at your feet.''
He had brought items inside before, but usually just the usual cat-type things like bark, insects and birds, she said.
''I saw him once bring a stick in and he got one end in and then came in himself and then pulled the rest in.''
Newspapers were new.
''If he does start doing that regularly it will be a cheap subscription,'' her partner Mr Knight joked.
Mrs Lloyd hoped it would not become a regular thing.
She was still astounded by the cat's ability to drag the paper so far.
''What amazes me is how he got it through the cat-flap.''
