Cheeky seagull wanders through home six times a day to steal cat biscuits

A cheeky seagull has been wandering through a family's home six times a day to steal cat biscuits. The bird, nicknamed Beakie, was a constant feature at the home of Andrew and Jacqui Merrington last summer but has returned in recent weeks more confident than ever. It regularly 'knocks' on the patio door with it beak demanding to be let in. And after the doors were left open in the recent spell of hot weather, the cocky gull has gone one step further by coming into the house to help itself to cat biscuits.



When it is not sneaking its way inside the home in Penzance, Cornwall, Beakie hangs around outside with the family's bemused cat Martha. Andrew, 42, said: "My daughter named it as it would just loiter around and was a fixture on our decking all last summer. It started to tap on the back patio door with its peak asking to be let in. We were not feeding it, but it would just hang around. Then there were a few times when we left the door open when it was hot and it just came in the living room to have a poke around.





"I was working from home recently and was aware of the sounds of cat biscuits being pushed around and I thought our cat Martha was just playing with them. But I poked my head around the corner and there was Beakie the seagull enjoying Martha's food. I couldn't believe it." Andrew and Jacqui, 38, said Beakie had almost become a second family pet. Andrew added: "I suppose you could say that Beakie has become our unintentional pet. We are not feeding it though, they are just very opportunist and it is a real character. Every evening when we are sat at in our living room we can hear the tapping.


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"Our cat Martha just sits and looks at him suspiciously, but they sit out together and are a bit of an odd couple. Beakie is a very clever seagull. He or she comes in if the door is left open and slides across the wooden floor and goes straight for the cat food bowl. We don't encourage it, but that part of the house is a sun-trap that can get warm so sometimes the door is left open." Andrew said Beakie is currently visiting them around six times a day and always wants to come inside. He said he believes it has taken a liking to cat food as that is the only thing available in the house. He added: "We do not leave food lying about. I am confident if we left a sandwich it would go for it as it is quite bold when it comes in, but just goes for what is on ground level."