Woman Who Put Cat in Bin Says Sorry, but 'It's Just a Cat'

LONDON (Aug. 25) -- The British woman who became a hate figure for animal lovers everywhere after she was caught tossing a cat into a trash bin today apologized for her anti-feline offense, only hours after telling tabloid The Sun, "I don't know what the fuss is about, it's just a cat."

Mary Bale, a 45-year-old bank worker from the central English city of Coventry, said in a statement, "I want to take this opportunity to apologize profusely for the upset and distress that my actions have caused. It was a split second of misjudgment that has got completely out of control."

Earlier in the day, though, Bale had told The Sun she didn't understand why Brits -- known as a nation of animal lovers -- couldn't just fur-get about the incident.

"OK, I shouldn't have done it -- but it's just a cat at the end of the day. I don't think I deserve to be hated by people all over the world, it was just a split second of madness," she said. "I don't know what came over me, but I suddenly thought it would be funny to put it in the wheelie bin, which was right beside me."

Footage of the incident captured by a security camera on Aug. 21 shows that Bale knew purr-fectly well that she wasn't behaving like a model citizen. She's seen stroking a four-year-old tabby cat called Lola and glancing furtively from side to side. When it's clear that no one is watching, Bale grabs the poor puss by the scruff of its neck, tosses it in the trash bin and slams the lid. The cat's owners, Stephanie and Darryl Mann, found the distraught and hungry Lola some 15 hours later.

"We thought she might be trapped under the car because she sounded like she was hurt, so we followed her cries and eventually found her in the bin," Stephanie told the Coventry Telegraph. When the couple checked the footage from their security camera, they were shocked to discover the guilty party was a respectable looking gray-haired woman.

"I was absolutely heartbroken to see how someone could just be so cruel," she said.

In an attempt to secure justice for Lola, the outraged Manns posted the video on YouTube and set up a Facebook site called "Help Find the Woman Who Put My Cat in the Bin." Their video received a flurry of media attention, and Bale was soon named as the phantom cat binner.

Police were today guarding the unmarried woman's house -- which is just half a mile from the crime scene -- after a Facebook page was set up urging "Death to Mary Bale." That group had 927 members before it was pulled by Facebook today, while the more moderate "Mary Bale Should Be Locked Up for Putting Lola the Cat in the Bin" currently has 8,800-plus supporters. But Stephanie Mann has pleaded with animal lovers to put their claws away.

"Now that the police know who she is, I think people should leave it to them," the cat owner told reporters. "Whatever she has done, I don't like her, but I don't want her to get hurt."

Bale is already paying a heavy price for the crime, telling The Sun she was worried she might lose her job as a customer service assistant with the Royal Bank of Scotland. "I wish I'd never set eyes on the cat," Bale admitted.

Lola, meanwhile, has recovered from her trauma and is now enjoying the stack of gifts ferried to her by concerned felinophiles. The Sun today pictured the kitty surrounded by cans of her favorite salmon-filled food and lounging on a brand-new pink polka dot pillow.