It doesn't matter if you own a big hound or a fluffy little tabby, you know how persuasive animals can be when they smell a tasty snack. From wagging tails to piercing gazes, they have plenty of weapons at their disposal to convince us to give them a bite.
And if all fails, some are determined enough to try out the last option — stealing!
We at Bored Panda put together a new collection of amusing photographic evidence, showcasing shameless pet thieves in the middle of their crimes. I wonder what excuse they would give to a judge.
Continue scrolling to check out the images and don't miss the chat we had with Alison Schramel, CPDT-KA Animal Behavior and Training Manager for one of the leading animal welfare organizations in the US, Animal Humane Society (AHS).
This post may include affiliate links.
My Large Icy Was Full When I Went In The Store For 2 Minutes
I see nothing that would suggest this dog is guilty of slushy-stealing.
I Was Trying To Take A Photo Of The Cake I Baked Until Someone Snuck Up On Me
When you spend so much time cooking mouth-watering food, it's pretty normal for your pet to want to nibble on it too.
"Simply put, animals do what works for them. In their eyes, they are eating food that is available to them and don't understand what belongs to them versus their human roommates," Alison Schramel of AHS told Bored Panda. "Food is a valuable resource for animals, especially if they don't know when their next meal will be available to them."
"It's important to keep food out of reach for animals so they don't eat things that will make them ill, such as a loaf of bread left on the counter or chocolate candy on a coffee table."
Someone Left The Peanut Butter On The Counter
Someone Liked The Taste Of Butter Chicken
Of All The Dogs I've Ever Had, He's The Worst One
Plus, it doesn't mean that our pets automatically fail even when they walk away after the mission empty-pawed. Maybe the attention they receive during the whole thing is a sufficient reward in and of itself?
Who hasn't reacted to their pet trying to steal food by taking them into our arms and suggesting the ball instead? Even if we reprimand the rascals, we are paying attention to them, and that could give them a good reason to keep at it.
When You Leave The Yogurt Unattended
My Dad Says He Can Never Eat Anything In Peace
My Dog, Aspen, Always Grabs Things Out Of The Pantry And Brings Them To Us With This Face
The golden retriever retrieved the golden seeded bread. I only see a very good boi!
However, if we want the crimes to stop, Schramel suggested that we, first and foremost, keep all food items out of reach of any animals in our home.
"Remember to keep purses up and out of reach that may have gum or other snacks in them," she added. "If you want an extra layer of management, you can gate your kitchen off as well."
I Found My Dog's Butter Stash This Morning, Buried In Her Bed. She Doesn't Want To Talk About It
And she would of got away with it too, if it wasn't for those pesky kids!
The Cat Was Mad We Weren't Home To Feed Her Dinner. So She Got Back At Us By Ripping Apart A Pack Of Bagels And Taking A Tiny Bite Out Of Each One
My Mom's Mini-Horse Got Into The House And Stole A Banana
well we have bananas for scale so we can determine how small he is.
We might need to address some of our habits as well. "Keep an eye on where kids leave snacks or drinks," Schramel said.
"If you have guests over, it may be easiest to keep your pets in a closed bedroom or other location where you don't need to keep an eye on them."
Also, keep in mind that a lack of physical and mental stimulation can lead to many behavioral problems in pets, including stealing food.
Cute Noodle Stealing A Noodle
How could he help himself? If you're a furry noodle, you must eat noodles.
Kitten And Coffee
Yesterday I Rescued This Kitten From A Cruel Life As A Stray, Today He Shamelessly Stole My Son’s Lunch. I’ve Taken In A Criminal
According to Schramel, toxic foods we must avoid giving to our pets include grapes, raisins, onions, chocolate, garlic, alcohol, and avocados.
The animal behavior and training manager said other foods to look out for are:
BBQ Bones. They can easily chip into small pieces that quickly become choking hazards, and cooking can also remove the nutrients from the bones. Note: Corn on the cob can also be a similar choking hazard!
Processed or Fatty Meats. Too many snacks like processed or fatty meats can cause gastrointestinal upset or pancreatitis.
You Can Take The Kitty Out Of The Dumpster, But You Can't Take The Dumpster Out Of The Kitty
I Left My Food Unattended For 2 Minutes, And My Cat Fell Asleep While Eating It
Climbed Up The Handles To Eat Cheese While I'm Cutting It
Further down the list are:
Ice cream. The amount of sugar in ice cream is too high for this to be a good snack option for your four-legged friend, and some animals may experience lactose intolerance.
Fatty mayonnaise-based foods: Too many fatty foods can cause GI upset or put them at risk of developing pancreatitis.
Nuts. Can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and pancreatitis
Salty snacks. Causes excessive thirst and sodium poisoning.
Spaghetti Thief
Can I Have Some?
I Caught Him Stealing A Slice Of Beef Cheek On The Taco Night
For more mischievous pet thieves, fire up our earlier picture collections here and here.
But remember, the best way to deal with the problem of our pets stealing food is not to let it develop in the first place.
And if it does happen, it's in your (and the animal's) best interest to put an end to it.
He Stole A Stale Baguette I Was Saving To Make Breadcrumbs And He's Been Carrying It Around For Three Days
I Spent An Entire Day Baking Challah Bread, Only To Have It Stolen
My Parent's Great Dane Stole The Coffee Mate
To be fair, doggo looks like he direly needs some coffee.Those eyes are sealed shut.
Ours stole whole butter sticks right off the dinner table. He'd lay his head in the table and inch his way over - then poof he and the butter would disappear.
Trying To Sneak A Steak Bite
Every Single Night. Doesn't Matter What's For Dinner
I Just Want To Taste It
Lettuce-Stealing Little Thief
Pizza Thief Caught In The Act
Everyone enjoys pizza. My little brother Audi steals -- I mean eats-- it every time.
I Heard A Noise In The Pantry. This Fool Was In There Eating A Bag Of Raw Flour And Is Now Shocked That His Mouth Is Full Of Dough
Let Me Introduce You To The Freak Living In My Flat - Jax. I Caught Him Licking Our Sauce
Picture 1: “HOW! DARE! YOU! I was eating that.” Picture 2: “I know where you sleep.”
Not An Ounce Of Remorse
"Put Them On A Raw Meat Diet." They Said. This Carb-Craving Criminal Pulled The Bagels Out Of The Cupboard
It's very weird that dry cat food is almost half made of carbs even though cats are full carnivores. Pet food manufacturers are the real criminals
He Stole A Cheeseburger And Just Had It Sitting In His Mouth
Smokes Stole A Pringle
Pretended He Was Sleeping, Then Slowly Moved Towards The Food
She Looks Guilty
My 15-Year-Old Deaf Cocker Spaniel Thought He Was Being Sneaky Loudly Stealing Chips When The Kids Left The Pantry Open
Meet Harold, The Reason We Now Close Jars Of Pasta Sauce When We Recycle Them
The Art And The Artist
My Puppy Decided He Also Wanted A Piece Of My Mom's Birthday Cake
I'm Just Trying To Peacefully Eat My Breakfast
I Turned My Back For 10 Seconds
Every Morning, I Feed The Dog Outside So The Cats Don't Bother Her. Today I Was Not Fast Enough, So She Picked Out Something To Eat And Waited By The Door
She is beautiful and I’d give her whatever she requested for breakfast
Sketti Thief
Mother, You Know That Muffin You Left On The Side? Well, It Exploded
Honestly, I Have No Idea Where All That Cheese Went
Breakfast With A Cat
Who Stole The Pizza Crust Off My Plate?
No Kitty, It's Not For You
She Stole My Bacon And Then Didn't Eat It
Somebody Got Into The Garden And Stole A Bell Pepper
My Husband Didn't Think Cats Would Eat A Burrito. He Was Wrong
Cheeto Thief
Here's My 18-Year-Old Gentry Doing What She Does The Best. Trying To Steal Peoples Food
Spot The Thief During Our Pre-Holiday Dinner Last Night
Always Wants My Water
"No. I Have No Idea Who Ate Your Can Of Spaghetti-Os Daddy"
Working From Home Means Your Colleagues Are More Brazen About Stealing Your Lunch
I Walked Out The Door To Go To Work But Realized I Left My Lunch In The Fridge. Went Back Inside To Find This
Cookie Thief
Was Left Alone For 3 Seconds And Stole A Pancake Off The Table. No Regrets
My Wife Doesn't Eat Her Pizza Crusts, But Jacob Is Happy To Steal Them The First Chance He Gets
It's not stealing if he's the only one who wants it.
Little Stinker Stole My Cheesecake Factory Bread
I Left My Ice Cream For One Minute While Changing His Litter Box. Ungrateful Little Bastard
Someone Was Pretty Close To Stealing An Entire Snickers Bar
You're Not You When You're Hungry. Probably that's actually a human, I've seen these commercials before, you can't fool me
Croissant Robbery. The Suspect Was Caught In The Act
That croissant attacked first! He was saving you! And here you are, falsely shaming him.
Butter Thief
Mother, I Stole For You This Sausage From The Kitchen
She Wanted To Share My Supper
She'd share with you. Go ahead, have some kibble.
Bone Stole This Giant Zucchini Off The Table And Took It Outside. No Shame
Excuse Me, Could You Help Me Find Who Ate This Yogurt?
Yes, That Is My Cat Trying To Steal Some Bagels
Guess I'm Sharing My Pizza
I’ve said it before, but - it’s funny for a pic, but don’t let a cat or a dog eat any pizza. The sauce contains onion and garlic powder, both of which are toxic to cats AND dogs :(
This Adorable Little Jerk Eating My Sandwich While Standing On The Piece Of Bread I Gave Him
Cookie Thief
Last Friday, Maddie Ate A Piece Of My Dad's Birthday Cake. Today She Ate A Good Portion Of Three Habanero Peppers. The Vet Warned Me That Tonight Is Going To Be Bad
Significant Other Fell Asleep, So My Boy Stole The Triscuits Proudly
I'm Just Going To Taste It
No, Mom, I Didn't Lick Your Cake. Why Do You Ask?
I didn't eat the cake. I caught the ummmmm giant bug that was flying around. Yes, that's it. There was a bug. I protected the cake.
Purrmione Is The Least Food Driven Cat I've Ever Had. However, I Caught Her Stealing Lettuce Today. What A Weirdo
Mine loves lettuce too! Can't even get it out of the fridge without him on the counter or floor begging!
When You Think Taco Bell Missed Part Of Your Order, But It Turns Out Your Cat Just Stole It
‘Yeah, the receipt says I payed for it but I don’t have- nevermind my cat stole it’
Little Lollipop Thief
Cantaloupe Thief
Last Night There Were Four Rolls In The Bag, And This Morning I Found It Like This
He Stole A Pancake
Who Stole My Tikka Masala?
He Broke Into The Snack Closet, Ate A Bunch Of Popcorn And Kibble. When He Couldn't Break Back Out He Peed Himself To Sleep
Xenon Stole A Pea Pod From The Vegetable Basket This Morning And Has Been Running Around The House With It In His Mouth
Kitty Wants To Steal The Last Slice Of Pizza
I Lick The Cream
She Stole A Half Dozen Fresh Bread Rolls And Hid Them Behind The Curtain
How did that bread escape the kitchen? It deserves the death penalty.
Never Leave Chip Dip Unattended
Chip Dip sounds like a pretty cool name for a fluffy kitty - did you leave the cat unsupervised?
Excuse Me, Don't Mind If I Do
My Brother's Cat Being A Little Thief
My Daughter Walked Away For Just A Moment. Pupper Trotted Up To Me Super Proud Just As I Heard My Daughter Yelling About Where Her Pizza Was
I’ve said it before, but - it’s funny for a pic, but don’t let a cat or a dog eat any pizza. The sauce contains onion and garlic powder, both of which are toxic to cats AND dogs :(
Two Successful Heists In One Day. She Got Caught Eating Out Of My Bowl. Pasta Sauce On Her Nose. In Her Head, I Bet She's Saying: "Today Was A Good Day"
She looks like she’s saying put me down before I scratch your eyes out, peasant
Don't Leave Your Spaghetti Unattended
Pomegranate Thiefs
I Can't Eat In Peace
Did that meat move? It might try to eat my soft can-opener, and then I'd have to train another. I'll just kill the meat, and save myself the trouble.
Guess Who Got Into A Bowl Of Spaghetti
whats up with white dogs licking spaghetti sauces (idk what kind of dog they are,but all i know is dog and when i see cat its called cat)
Just My Fat Cat Stealing My Munchies
Who Ate The Noodles And Chicken?
Someone Dug My Snacks Out Of My Work Bag. This Was The Second Time. The First Time, It Was Torn And Empty
That looks like it could be raisins and I believe those are very bad for dogs
Meatball Stealing My Tortellini
She Stole My Breakfast
This Thief Took An Apple As Soon As I Got Back From The Orchard
Sylvester Helping Himself To Breakfast
The Gigantic Rat Had A Taste Of My Pasta Bake
I Got A Burrito At Work. I Leaned Over To Pick My Can Of Paint Up, And Aspen Snatched A Bite
Cream Cheese Thief Was Caught
Guilty Of Eating My Dinner
Our Little Tomato Thief
My Neighbour's Cat, Frodo, Plotting To Steal Food. It Was Unsuccessful
I Live With A Thief
He Weighed 3,5 Lbs And Ate An Entire Plate Of Spicy Sausage Biscuits And Gravy
If you make the dog a plate of my mum's biscuits and gravy, he's going to eat it.
He Got Busted
Someone Ate My Yogurt
I Went Outside To Throw A Can In The Recycling. I Left My Sandwich As Far Back On The Counter As I Could. He Ate The Lettuce, Turkey, And Cheese
Pizza With A Happy Ending
Pizza? I Haven't Seen Any Pizzahhh
Luka Got Caught Stealing A Ribeye
Stole My Damn Bread
My Sister's Kitty Stole My Spicy Ramen
Thief Detected
I Caught This Guy Trying To Steal My Yogurt
A lot of these look like the food was just TOO easily accessible to be an accident. It seems like many of the pictures were posed and the pets given foods that aren't good for them. But for the handful that were truly accidental, they were cute.
Gosh, my cat is such a goody two-shoes, she never tries to steal food! Only if you leave a plate with some leftover sauce she might try to lick it, but even then usually after giving you a look and a chirrup first to ask permission.
The only things my cats will try to steal is freshly roasted chicken and seafood , especially prawns and cod
Load More Replies...People may think it's cute and funny when their pet "steals" their food but human food is terrible for them. In addition to the high sugar and fat content a lot of it contains garlic and onion in powder form as part of the spice blend. Garlic and onion are toxic to pets! You might get lucky once or twice but you're harming your animal and shortening its life!
I know all the Allium family are toxic to dogs but are they also poisonous to cats or any other pets?
Load More Replies...Had a cat drag a pound of salami defrosting on the counter. Across the house, up a flight of stairs, down the hall, and onto the top bunk where she proceeded to eat the entire pound while we were out for the day. I thought her belly was going to burst.
My freakin'... ninja-stealth-dog... she HOSPITALIZED herself from being such a good food-thief... not because she ate something 'wrong' for dogs... but because she ate SO MUCH she got backed up. To this day, we don't know **where** she got the food from... everything is behind something-that-requires-opposable-thumbs to open. It's like she found a - a - a bag-of-holding-food-portal.
None of these would happen if you had trained your pet correctly. Yes, I had pets before. They were not allowed in our living room, nor on the counter, or around the dining table. The cat got raw liver on Sundays and our dog got 8 pieces of toast with jam (he could count). They both sat and waited for the signal before getting to their bowl.
When my Dane was a puppy, we had just made some food and set it on our deep freezer (we don't have a lot of counter space, so we use the freezer). Left it alone for a few minutes, came back, and oh look. Guess who has his feet on the freezer, eating food? Dane puppy. Since then we use an unfolded X-pen to block off the kitchen so our dogs don't eat the whole kitchen. Seem like these people need something similar
One time I made teriyaki pork chops and left them on the counter for 5 minutes. When I came back he ate all of them and left ONE for me. Forget the rest of the family. I ended up having to chop it up into teriyaki rice to make enough lol
My cat Luna stole most of a pan of sweetcorn, which was meant to be given to the hens. And yes, it did all come out again eventually! :-{ We hide the sweetcorn from her now.
A lot of these look like the food was just TOO easily accessible to be an accident. It seems like many of the pictures were posed and the pets given foods that aren't good for them. But for the handful that were truly accidental, they were cute.
Gosh, my cat is such a goody two-shoes, she never tries to steal food! Only if you leave a plate with some leftover sauce she might try to lick it, but even then usually after giving you a look and a chirrup first to ask permission.
The only things my cats will try to steal is freshly roasted chicken and seafood , especially prawns and cod
Load More Replies...People may think it's cute and funny when their pet "steals" their food but human food is terrible for them. In addition to the high sugar and fat content a lot of it contains garlic and onion in powder form as part of the spice blend. Garlic and onion are toxic to pets! You might get lucky once or twice but you're harming your animal and shortening its life!
I know all the Allium family are toxic to dogs but are they also poisonous to cats or any other pets?
Load More Replies...Had a cat drag a pound of salami defrosting on the counter. Across the house, up a flight of stairs, down the hall, and onto the top bunk where she proceeded to eat the entire pound while we were out for the day. I thought her belly was going to burst.
My freakin'... ninja-stealth-dog... she HOSPITALIZED herself from being such a good food-thief... not because she ate something 'wrong' for dogs... but because she ate SO MUCH she got backed up. To this day, we don't know **where** she got the food from... everything is behind something-that-requires-opposable-thumbs to open. It's like she found a - a - a bag-of-holding-food-portal.
None of these would happen if you had trained your pet correctly. Yes, I had pets before. They were not allowed in our living room, nor on the counter, or around the dining table. The cat got raw liver on Sundays and our dog got 8 pieces of toast with jam (he could count). They both sat and waited for the signal before getting to their bowl.
When my Dane was a puppy, we had just made some food and set it on our deep freezer (we don't have a lot of counter space, so we use the freezer). Left it alone for a few minutes, came back, and oh look. Guess who has his feet on the freezer, eating food? Dane puppy. Since then we use an unfolded X-pen to block off the kitchen so our dogs don't eat the whole kitchen. Seem like these people need something similar
One time I made teriyaki pork chops and left them on the counter for 5 minutes. When I came back he ate all of them and left ONE for me. Forget the rest of the family. I ended up having to chop it up into teriyaki rice to make enough lol
My cat Luna stole most of a pan of sweetcorn, which was meant to be given to the hens. And yes, it did all come out again eventually! :-{ We hide the sweetcorn from her now.