WESTPORT — Was it a black cat?

A 56-year-old man had the bad luck to be arrested a third time this month, accused of stealing a neighbor’s cat.

James Doyle, of Westport, was charged with breach of peace in connection with the Jan. 20 incident.

Earlier this month, Doyle was arrested for hitting a jogger Jan. 8 while driving on Greens Farms Road and on Jan. 13 he was charged with causing “significant damage” to Westport Housing Authority landscaping with his car last Dec. 21.

Previously, he had been charged by police with stalking a neighbor last November.

In the latest case, a resident complained to police Jan. 20 that her neighbor — identified as Doyle — had “been trying to lure her cat into his residence for some time,” despite her protests to leave the animal alone, according to the police report.

After neighbors told the cat’s owner that they saw Doyle trying to entice the pet to enter his apartment, the woman again asked Doyle to cease, police said.

Instead, according to the report, Doyle “allegedly picked up the cat, displayed his middle finger and took the cat inside his residence.”

Doyle was sitting on his front porch when officers arrived on the scene, and allegedly admitted that he brought the cat inside his apartment, but by then had released the pet.

After Doyle was formally charged, he later was released on $1,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 31 at state Superior Court in Stamford.