AMAZING pictures show the moment a badger was found sleeping – in a cat’s basket.
Ben Dolphin was looking after the cats while his friends were on holiday and couldn’t believe his eyes at what greeted him.
The badger was curled up, fast asleep, enjoying the comfort and warmth of a home in Linlithgow, West Lothian, after creeping in through the catflap.
Ben, the president of Ramblers Scotland, called the SSPCA to help the badger, which is through to have been unwell. Shortly after inspectors arrived, the animal roused itself and made a dash for freedom.
Ben tweeted a photo of the badger asleep in the cat’s bed yesterday (wed) with the caption: “That moment you go to your friends’ house to feed the cats while they’re away, but find the cats have moved out and someone else has moved in.”
The post was retweeted over 1,000 times and liked almost 500 times.
He later posted an update, saying: “Surreal to be eye to eye with a badger at such close quarters. Poor thing was clearly unwell but it perked up and left through the cat flap.”
There were a number of replies with many concerned for the badger and the cats.
Emily Platt said: “Glad they attended, hopefully the wee one will be ok. Very bizarre to see.”
A Twitter user named Catherine asked: “Are the cats ok?”, to which Ben replied: “Aye they’re fine.”
Huw Thomas saw the funny said, saying: “When they return, first question will be: ‘What the hell have you been feeding the cat’?”
Helen Jones said: “Hope it is ok. Maybe it needs to see a vet. It looks as though it is enjoying the warm, soft bed.”
A spokeswoman for the Scottish SPCA said: “He actually managed to escape out the back door. The officer pulled and twisted the bed out and and he took off out the back door.
“We didn’t actually physically need to touch it.”
Scottish SPCA Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn added: “It is highly unusual for a wild badger to enter a house and we would urge anyone to immediately contact our animal helpline on 03000 999 999 should they find one in an unusual place.
“Like all wild animals badgers can be aggressive when injured or cornered so we would advise not to go near or touch them without giving us a call first.”
