In those distant times, when there were no cell phones, and laundry and washed (worn) things had sufficient value in the eyes of criminals, they used specially caught and trained courtyard cats for their disgusting purposes - cats were supplied with a loop type rope extender. Such a specially trained cat with a criminal hand was thrown onto an inaccessible balcony, where underwear or things were dried. The cat clung to the fabric with its nails and the extender was pulled into the hands of the criminals along with the clamped underwear. Real cases from the Soviet Criminal Chronicles.