Woman who dumped cat in bin given 'police protection' as thousands join Facebook protest group



A middle-aged woman caught on camera dumping a cat into a wheelie bin is being offered police protection as thousands join a Facebook group protesting against her actions.

PCSOs are on duty outside the woman's home 'to ensure public order is maintained' after she was filmed stroking the tabby along a suburban street.

The woman - a bank worker from Rugby who has been interviewed by police - is then seen grabbing the cat, called Lola, by the scruff of her neck and throwing her into the green bin before slamming the lid shut.

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The woman appears to be harmless as she strokes four-year-old cat, Lola, as it walks along a wall on a street in Coventry



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After dropping the poor moggy in the container, she shuts the lid, trapping it inside



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She then calmly continues on her way. The woman is due to be interviewed by the RSCPA today.

The four-year-old rescue cat was trapped in the bin for 15 hours before her owners found her the next morning.



Today, more than 5,000 people have joined a Facebook group to track down the grey-haired woman, whose identity has been revealed to the RSPCA and Coventry Police.

However, a force spokesman denied the woman has been offered 'official police protection' but admitted there are police community support officers outside her home as a 'sensible precaution'.

A spokesman said: 'The RSPCA are leading an investigation into the incident and will be interviewing the woman shortly.

'Coventry Police are supporting this investigation and urge the public to leave the matter to be dealt with correctly by the authorities.



'Coventry Police have not arrested the woman because she has not committed a criminal offence.



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'Coventry Police are making sure the woman is okay as we would with any other member of the community given what has happened.'



Lola's owner Darryl Mann, 26, said: ‘I came down to feed Lola on Sunday morning but couldn’t find her anywhere. It was really hot day outside and I searched nearby alleyways but suddenly heard a tiny meowing coming from the bin.



‘I looked inside and I found her in the bin, she was terrified and covered in her own mess.’



The mobile phone repair man and his wife Stephanie Andrews-Mann have cameras covering the outside of their home in Coventry - and the cruel attack was captured on film.



He added: ‘At first I thought she’d somehow climbed inside the bin herself but when I checked the CCTV I was gobsmacked to see some woman had done in deliberately.

'I’d like to know how she would feel if she was stuck in a bin for 15 hours without food or drink.’



His wife, Stephanie, who has a daughter from a previous relationship, was appalled by the attack.

She said: ‘I find the entire thing sickening. I cannot believe someone would do this to an innocent family pet.



'Lola was a rescue cat and was wary of people when we first got her. She has a lovely disposition and really wouldn’t hurt a fly.



'This is what makes the attack on her so shocking. I really want to find the woman who did this to her. She must be stopped.'

In an attempt to track down the culprit, the couple have put the 1.27min clip of the attack on Lola on websites YouTube and Facebook.



Those who saw it were shocked. One, Lynsey Skinner, wrote: ‘Someone must know who she is? Have you spoken to your neighbours about it? Crazy and cruel. I hope you do report her and she is caught.’



A spokesman for the RSPCA said: ‘The RSPCA is appalled by allegations that a cat was placed inside a wheelie bin in what would appear to be a mindless act of animal cruelty.'