When Vicky Meikle popped out of her Easter Road flat last Friday morning it was to put a bag of rubbish in the communal wheelie bin.
When she lifted the lid she was surprised to find two, large frightened eyes staring back at her.
The eyes belonged to a white and tabby tom cat and Vicky found him sitting beside a broken cat carrier which may have been damaged when it was thrown into the bin.
“He was very frightened and I carried him back to my flat and checked to make sure there were no injuries,” said Vicky.
“When I put down some food for him he was certainly hungry but unfortunately, my unexpected visitor was not made welcome by my own two cats.”
“I took him to the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home that afternoon to see if they could help.”
The Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home (EDCH) is now issuing an appeal to find out what may have happened to the cat.
David Ewing, EDCH General Manager commented: “He is a really lovely boy and it may be that his owner doesn’t know what happened to him. We have seen extreme cases where a neighbour or family member hates cats and steals the animal to dump it in an area away from where the owner lives. The owner may believe or have been told their cat has simply wandered off somewhere.”
“Alternatively, it may have been the owner who callously dumped the cat, and if that is the case, we know the authorities would want to speak to anyone with information, as it is an offence to abandon an animal.”
David continued: “The cat will be with us for a few weeks or until we can establish if he has an owner who loves him and wants to take him home. If no-one comes forward, we will then find a really good home and he will be micro-chipped before he leaves us.”
A micro-chip is a permanent form of identification which is the size of a grain of rice and inserted under the loose skin on the back of the animal’s neck.
David continued: “He was really lucky it was Vicky who found him. As a cat owner, she did all the right things and kept him safe until she could bring him to us.”
Anyone with information should contact the Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home, 26 Seafield Road East, Edinburgh telephone 0131 669 5331. The Home is open Monday to Saturday from 10am until 4pm.
