A 33-year-old East Bremerton man stole his neighbors’ cat trap Sunday, armed with a bat, after his own cat was trapped and turned over to the humane society.

The neighbors of the suspect, a 35-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman, reported the theft at about 6:40 p.m. Sunday, according to Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office reports. They told deputies their neighborhood, in the 500 block of Fairwood Way, has too many stray cats. They had been using a humane trap to capture the cats and turn them over to the Kitsap County Humane Society.

Earlier in the week, the suspect asked the couple whether they found his cat and looked at a photo the couple had taken of the cat to verify it was taken to the humane society.

On Sunday, the 31-year-old woman saw the suspect approaching her house with a baseball bat. She alerted the 35-year-old man, who took photos of their neighbor as he walked away. After that, the couple noticed their cat trap was gone.

When deputies contacted the suspect he admitted taking the trap, saying he was angry his cat picked up an illness at the humane society, adding, “I’m pissed off that all of my cats are sick.” When asked about the bat, the man said, “That dude is bigger and I needed it to protect myself,” referring to the 35-year-old man.

The trap was returned to the couple and a report was forwarded to prosecutors.