A woman who was caught on camera dumping a cat in a wheelie bin in Coventry has been fined £250 after pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the animal.
Former bank worker Mary Bale, 45, from Coventry, quit her job after she became an international hate figure in August when CCTV footage emerged of her stroking the four-year-old tabby before picking it up by the scruff of its neck and dropping it into the bin.
She admitted the charge of causing unnecessary suffering when she appeared at Coventry Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
A second charge, of failing to provide the cat with a suitable environment, contrary to the 2006 Animal Welfare Act, was dropped.
Bale, who appeared close to tears, was fined £250 plus £15 victim surcharge and costs of £1,171.
She was also banned from keeping or owning animals for the next five years.
District judge Caroline Goulborn told Bale the potential of the offence to have caused harm to the cat was substantial, but in reality it had not been hurt.
She said: "The media interest in this case has resulted in you being vilified in some quarters and I have taken that into account."
Judge Goulborn, who was told Bale's elderly father was gravely ill at the time, added: "I accept that you were in a stressful situation at the time, but that's no excuse for what you did."
Judge Goulborn, who was told Bale's elderly father was gravely ill at the time, added: "I accept that you were in a stressful situation at the time, but that's no excuse for what you did."
The court heard that Bale - who had faced a maximum fine of £20,000 or up six months' imprisonment - could provide no answer as to why she had acted in such an "impulsive and irrational" way.
Bale, whose father died last Thursday, left the court without comment in a taxi which was surrounded by photographers before it drove away.
Outside court, RSPCA Inspector Nicky Foster said she hoped the substantial costs order made against the defendant and the ban on keeping animals would act as a deterrent.
The official, who insisted that the charity would still have prosecuted Bale if the incident had not been captured on camera, said: "The cat in this case has been extremely lucky to come out unharmed and with no lasting injuries.
"She (Bale) said in court that she doesn't know why she has done it, so she has no excuses. The magistrates have looked at the case and I think it's a very fair decision."
