cat and kitten sneaking

cat and kitten sneaking (uncountable)

1. (UK, slang, obsolete) The theft of pint and quart pots and small pewter spirit measures from public houses.
   • 1867, Jacob Larwood, John Camden Hotten, The History of Signboards, page 177:

     In the police courts it is not uncommon to hear that such and such low persons have been "had up" for "cat and kitten sneaking," i.e., stealing quart and pint pots.

• John Camden Hotten (1873) The Slang Dictionary