Council tells woman to throw cat in her bin

Carolyn said she was shocked and disgusted at the advice Fife Council gave her.

Carolyn Ingran said she was given the advice after contacting Fife Council’s general information team about a dead cat she had found outside her home.

The resident of Davaar Drive Kirkcaldy, found the cat on the pavement close to her garden fence on Tuesday morning and contacted the local authority to request its removal.

However Mrs Ingran was left shocked when she was told by the employee to throw it in with her own household waste bin.

“The least I’d have expected was a sympathetic approach,” said Mrs Ingran.

“The poor animal seems to have been struck by a vehicle and died shortly after.

“I was hoping to find the owner and wasn’t keen for children to have to see the cat as they walked past.”

Mrs Ingran, herself a cat owner, wrapped the pet in a towel before knocking on neighbours’ doors in a bid to find the owner.

Local resident, David Etienne, who helped in the efforts, said he was also shocked by the council’s reponse.

“It’s complete lack of compassion and understanding. I was mortified,” he said.

“The cat was obviously loved by its owner and despite what has happened, they’d want the animal back.”

Damien Woods, service manager for parks, streets and open spaces said: “When a member of the public contacts us for advice about the disposal of a dead cat, we recommend that it be taken to their nearest vet who will arrange for the cat to be disposed of appropriately.

“If a cat is reported to us as roadkill we will scan the animal to see if any identification is recorded so we can contact the owner and return it.

“I’m disappointed to hear that on this occasion the wrong information was given to a customer and we will follow this up with our contact centre to ensure that everyone is reminded of the authorised procedures.”