Caught leaving notes to Kitty in vessel (9)

I believe the answer is:

coffeepot

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'vessel' is the definition.
(coffeepot is a kind of vessel)

'caught leaving notes to kitty' is the wordplay.
'caught leaving' becomes 'coff' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'notes' becomes 'ee' (two E's - as in the musical note E).
'to kitty' becomes 'pot' (both can mean a shared fund).
'coff'+'ee'+'pot'='COFFEEPOT'

'in' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for coffeepot that I've seen before include "Percolator" , "Hot drink dispenser" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.

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