‘Cat Burglars’ Hit Five Homes in Jenkintown

Four houses in Jenkintown were struck by "cat burglars" in the early hours of Friday morning, Abington police said.

The burglars successfully stole electronic valuables from three homes in the 1000 block of Huntingdon Road, apparently after they were scared away earlier in the morning from a home in the 300 block of Thorpe Road, according to a police press release.

What scared them away appears to have been a resident who yelled from her bedroom at her cats, police said. The resident "heard noises coming from the downstairs of her home," police wrote in the release.

"She thought it was her cats and she got up and yelled at them," the release said. "She then investigated further and found a downstairs window which had been closed now standing open with the window screen removed."

Police believe the burglars may have been scared off by the resident's yells. During their preliminary investigation of the Thorpe Road attempt, detectives also found another failed burglary in the same block

Burglars did hit three homes about two miles from Thorpe Road, and were seen about 5 a.m. running to a parked car with a large, rectangular object. That is believed to be a 55-inch television stolen from one of the homes, police said.

Other stolen property includes video game systems, laptop computers, cameras, other electronics, and some cash.