‘Cat Bin Lady’ Mary Bale was reviled around the globe when she threw Lola the moggie in a wheelie bin. Now, 16 years on and a recluse, she still can’t live with the shame

In the early days of social media, it was one of the first clips of its kind to go viral worldwide and has since been viewed millions of times.

A very ordinary woman encounters a cat while walking on a very ordinary street. The seemingly friendly and attention-seeking cat jumps from the pavement to the garden wall to get closer.

While looking around, the woman caresses the cat a few times, then suddenly grabs it by the neck and, with surprising skill, unscrews the lid of the adjacent wheelie bin, throws the cat in, closes the litter box and continues walking as if nothing had happened.

But something had happened: Mary Bale, then a 45-year-old single bank employee, had changed her own life forever.

Because the Daily Mail has learned that Ms Bale has never recovered from the international humiliation caused by her inexplicable act – and it has been so widely discussed that she is still known around the world as ‘The Lady of the Thousand Cats’.

And although he still lives in the same corner of suburban Coventry, he has become so reclusive that many new neighbors have no idea they are living next to someone who was an international outcast in 2010 and is still remembered as such.

The Daily Mail’s reexamination of the 16-year-old case was prompted by the discovery that Lola, the cat she had discarded as litter, lived a long and happy life, unaffected by what happened to her that day, and died of old age nearly five years ago.

But Mary Bale’s life has never been the same since.

The clip was one of the first of its kind to go viral, giving Coventry’s Miss Bale an enviable international pariah status as animal lovers around the world were outraged by the footage.

Miss Bale, who became known as ‘The Lady of the Thousand Cats’, later said she was ‘very sorry’ for what she called ‘a split second of wrong decision’. Fined £250 by court

Lola (pictured), the cat he threw into the litter box, lived a long and happy life, seemingly unaffected by what happened to her that day, and died of old age about five years ago.

Living alone and having to quit her job at a bank in anger, Miss Bale has never recovered from the insult caused by her inexplicable act and has now become something of a recluse.

He was initially unrepentant, saying he ‘didn’t deserve to be hated’ for his moment of madness and claimed people were overreacting.

‘I really don’t understand why everyone is so excited. “It’s just a cat,” he said. ‘I was walking home from work and saw this cat wandering in front of me. I was playing with him, petting him and listening to him purr as he stood on the garden wall. He was very friendly.

‘I don’t know what came over me but I suddenly thought it would be funny to put it in the wheelie bin right next to me. I did it as a joke because I thought it would be funny. I never thought you’d fall into the trap. ‘I was waiting for it to wriggle out of the bin.’

Bale added: ‘People put too much meaning into things. One way or another, I have no feelings towards cats. I don’t keep pets myself, but I have no problems with people who do.

‘It’s incredible to think that this video will be watched all over the world. I am a very private person and I do not want to upset any member of my family. I don’t know what my relatives will think, but I honestly think everyone is overreacting a bit.

‘Okay, I shouldn’t have done this but at the end of the day it’s just a cat. ‘I don’t think I deserve to be hated by people all over the world, it was just a moment of madness.’

But as public outrage accelerated and a Facebook group was set up calling for his death, Ms Bale said she was ‘very sorry’ for the ‘momentary wrong decision’.

In a statement he said: ‘I would like to take this opportunity to apologize profusely for the upset and distress my actions have caused.

‘I cannot explain why I did this, it is completely out of character and I certainly did not intend to cause any distress to Lola or her owners.

‘This was a split second wrong decision that got completely out of control.

‘I would like to express once again that I am deeply sorry for my actions and I hope that this matter will be resolved to everyone’s satisfaction as soon as possible.’

Frightened by the death threats and hate mail she received (some writing that she was “worse than Hitler”), Ms. Bale withdrew from public life altogether.

One of the few people who still sees her regularly is a neighbor who was there when the story broke and who knew Miss Bale after the fact.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, he told the Daily Mail: ‘Mary never got over her notoriety.

‘He has been vilified by people all over the world. Many people have already forgotten this, but not everyone and he does not feel forgiven.

‘After that anger he resigned from his job and was never able to establish a proper career.

‘He now lives a very quiet life and rarely speaks to anyone. I think he’s still deeply ashamed and thinks that’s all he’ll ever be known for from now on.’

Likeable local mum-of-two Diana, who is also a pet owner, said the unfortunate incident had ‘plagued Mary for years and she could never live down to the shame’.

She added: ‘He struggles at times and I feel really bad for him.’

Diana, who has a cat and dog, said she thought Mary would be ‘relieved’ to know Lola had lived a long life.

After the incident in August 2010, it was revealed that Ms Bale’s father was in a critical condition following a fall and that his daughter would die shortly before being ordered to appear in court.

A third neighbor alluded to this, saying: ‘Obviously it was a strange thing for him but when he found out his father was dying (he passed away just a few months later) it was clear he wasn’t in a good place at the time he did it. Those of us who know him have general sympathy for him.’

Lola’s owners, Darryl and Stephanie Mann, who still live nearby, rescued their adorable 4-year-old tabby from the dumpster after being trapped in it for 15 hours.

When they checked the CCTV footage, they were stunned to find out how he got there and angrily posted the video online.

In the days before the widespread adoption of Ring doorbells and similar devices, footage from security cameras mounted on the front door was much fresher than it is now, and the couple said they were stunned to see how the video later took off.

Lola, a former street child before the couple adopted her as a family pet, died of old age in 2021, but her death has not been reported so far.

It turns out he lived a ‘very good life’ despite his litter box trauma.

The Mann family declined to talk about his death this week. It seems that they forgave Meryem.

Police refused to intervene at the time, but the RSPCA subsequently launched a private investigation against Ms Bale, which was heard at the city’s magistrates’ court in October.

Ms Bale pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a cat, while a second charge of failing to provide a suitable environment for the cat was also dropped.

The court heard the cat lived a few streets away from his owners and although he did not know them, he had met and petted Lola before.

Her lawyer stated that he could not offer any explanation for his client’s actions and added: ‘Ms. Bale has asked herself this question every day, almost every hour for the last two months.’

He added that he felt he had to leave his job at the bank after 27 years.

District Judge Caroline Goulborn said the potential for harm to the cat was ‘significant’ but she had not actually suffered any harm and took into account the libel Ms Bale had received.

But the judge added: ‘I accept you were in a stressful situation but that is no excuse for what you did.’

Ms Bale was arrested on August 25, 2010, after she was filmed throwing the cat into the trash can.

At the time, Ms Bale was a member of the Birmingham Bach Choir and attended the annual dinner at Edgbaston Golf Club in April 2007. He was unavailable for comment this week.

In addition to the £250 fine, Ms Bale was ordered to pay costs of £1,171 and was banned from keeping or owning animals for the next five years.

He is not thought to have tried to get any pets since the ban ended 12 years ago.

Ms. Bale was unavailable for comment.

The Daily Mail omitted details of his exact whereabouts and other personal details.