A woman has launched a furious tirade against her neighbour after discovering her missing cat in the neighbour's bin following a four-day search.
Charlie Harris, who describes her pets as "her babies", found her beloved cat Bellatrix wrapped in bin bags and hidden under rubbish.
The distressed pet owner claims her neighbour repeatedly lied to her face during the agonising search.
Taking to TikTok, Harris recounted her harrowing experience, stating: "This is a public service announcement, which I never thought I would have to make. Even if you hate animals, this is not okay."
Charlie Harris took to social media to relay the story
Getty/TikTok
She issued a trigger warning before continuing: "I genuinely cannot believe that someone would do this and then lie to my face for four days, watching me make myself ill, torturing myself."
Harris explained that she had lived "peacefully" in her property for around a decade before Bellatrix went missing.
She visited neighbours asking them to check sheds and garages, but sensed one woman was lying about not seeing her cat.
After her partner dismissed her concerns as "crazy", Harris enlisted a friend with a "sniffer dog" who led them directly to the neighbour's bin.
The cat was found wrapped in bin bags and hidden under rubbish (stock pic)
PA
"I gave him [the dog] Bellatrix's bed [to sniff] and he literally took us to the neighbour's bin," Harris revealed.
"I immediately knew, and there was my cat in a black bin bag covered up by other bin bags on top of her ready to go to the landfill the next day."
Despite confronting her neighbour "calmly", Harris claims the woman continued to "lie to my face" about what had happened.
"How can somebody do that? Even after I got my cat out of the bin that she treated like trash, she almost took away any closure for me - and she took away Bellatrix's dignity," Harris vented.
She explained that she showed her other pets the scene because "they understand death" and had been searching for Bellatrix too.
Five weeks later, Harris says her neighbour has still not apologised.
"The police came, but unfortunately they said due to the laws in the UK, cats are free roaming animals and are classed as property, therefore I couldn't do anything about it," Harris explained.
The legal classification of cats as property rather than family members has left Harris with limited options for seeking justice.
Harris is now planning to move house to protect her remaining pets from potential harm, saying: "I'm in the process of moving to protect my other babies and Luna," she said.
At her new home, Harris plans to build a "catio" with "lots of stimulation" for her remaining cat Luna.
"She's not safe here," Harris added.
