Pirate Kitty captures hearts – and toys

A Ferny Hills felon with a fondness for filching is fast becoming the pin-up boy for rescue cats.

Pirate Kitty Kylo has been living with Ingrid Moyle and her family since December.

Before he moved in with the Moyles, he was known as Johnny and roved through Ferny Grove collecting toys and other treasures to deliver to new neighbours Kay and Tom McCall.

Wanting to reunite the bounty with its owners, the McCalls posted photos of his hauls to the Ferny Hills, Arana Hills, Everton Hills Ridgy-Didge Facebook page, in the process capturing the imagination of the community.

When Johnny had to find a new home, Ingrid, who’d followed the adventures from the start, offered to take him in.

Intrigued by the move, the community begged for Facebook updates about the cheeky ginger rescue kitty, who refused to answer to Johnny and was eventually renamed Kylo.

Going global

“I originally thought he was going to go into ‘witness protection’ when he came to us but the Ridgy-Didge people were having none of it,” Ingrid explains.

Such was the demand for updates on Pirate Kitty Kylo – now happily retrieving his own toys from around the Moyles’ home as an indoor cat – that Ingrid created a dedicated Facebook page for him, posting pictures and videos of his antics.

That in turn sparked media interest in his antics, bringing with it a social media following around the world.

Ingrid says when Pirate Kitty’s followers started inquiring about merchandise, she initially dismissed the idea, not wanting to profit from Kylo just being himself.

Helping fellow felines

“Kay and I were thinking about what we could do now he’s got a profile, and given he was a rescue boy it made sense to pair up with local cat rescuers.

“A lot of the smaller ones have been struggling through COVID because none of them can run fundraising events.”

Ingrid teamed with Petrie artist Dana to create an image of Kylo sitting atop an island of treasures he’s purloined, which can be emblazoned on a range of products through Australian print-on-demand company Redbubble.

Ingrid says 50 percent of profits from merchandise sold will be distributed among local cat rescue charities Best Friends Felines, Happy Tails Animal Rescue, Animals in Need Brisbane, Small Paws Animal Rescue Qld and Cat Cuddle Café Brisbane.

“You’ll be seeing t-shirts with Pirate Kitty on them around Brisbane and some badges have gone to America,” Ingrid laughs.

Find Pirate Kitty Kylo merchandise here.

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