In the dawning days of social media it was one of the first clips of its kind to go globally viral – and has since been viewed many millions of times.
A very ordinary woman is seen walking down a very ordinary street when she comes upon a cat. The cat, apparently friendly and seeking attention, jumps up from the pavement to a garden wall to get closer.
The woman strokes the cat a couple of times while glancing around then suddenly grabs it by the scruff of the neck and then, with surprising dexterity, flips open the lid of an adjacent wheelie bin, throws the cat inside, shuts the bin, and continues walking as if nothing has happened.
But something had happened: that woman, Mary Bale, a then 45-year-old single bank worker, had changed her own life forever.
Because the Daily Mail has learned that Ms Bale has never recovered from the international opprobrium her inexplicable action provoked – and which was so widely discussed that she is still known around the world as ‘Cat Bin Lady’.
And, although she still lives in the same corner of suburban Coventry, she has become a recluse, to the extent that many new neighbours have no idea they live next door to someone who, in 2010, was an international pariah and is still remembered as such.
The Daily Mail’s revisiting of the 16-year-old case was prompted by our learning that the cat she discarded as rubbish, Lola, had gone on to live a long and happy life unaffected by what had happened to her that day and died of old age some five years ago.
But Mary Bale’s life has never been the same since.
Mary Bale, a then 45-year-old single bank worker, sparked outrage around the world in 2010 for picking up Lola the cat off a garden wall and putting her in a wheelie bin and closing the lid
The clip was one of the first of its kind to go viral – and earned Ms Bale from Coventry the unenviable status of international pariah as animal lovers globally were enraged at the footage
Ms Bale became known as the ‘Cat Bin Lady’ and afterwards said she was ‘profoundly sorry’ for what she called a ‘split second of misjudgement’. She was fined £250 by a court
The cat she chucked in the bin, Lola (pictured), went on to live a long and happy life seemingly unaffected by what had happened to her that day and died of old age some five years ago
Ms Bale, who lives alone and had to leave her job with a bank in the furore, has never recovered from the opprobrium her inexplicable action provoked and is now something of a recluse
Initially, she was unrepentant, saying she did ‘not deserve to be hated’ for her moment of madness and claimed people were over-reacting.
‘I really don’t see what everyone is getting so excited about. It’s just a cat,’ she said. ‘I was walking home from work and saw this cat wander out in front of me. I was playing with it, stroking it and listening to it purr as it stood on a garden wall. It 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, which was right beside me. I did it as a joke because I thought it would be funny. I never thought it would be trapped. I expected it to wriggle out of the bin.’
Bale added: ‘People are reading too much into things. I’ve no feelings about cats one way or the other. I don’t keep pets myself, but I have no problem with people who do.
‘To think this video is being seen around the world is unbelievable. I’m a very private person and don’t want to upset any members of my family. I don’t know what my relatives will think, but to be honest I think everyone’s overreacting a bit.
‘OK, I shouldn’t have done it, but it’s just a cat at the end of the day. I don’t think I deserve to be hated by people all over the world, it was just a split second of madness.’
But as the public anger gathered pace and a Facebook group was set up calling for her death, Ms Bale said she was ‘profoundly sorry’ for ‘a split second of misjudgement’.
In a statement she said: ‘I want to take this opportunity to apologise profusely for the upset and distress that 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.
‘It was a split second of misjudgement that has got completely out of control.
‘I wish to reiterate that I am profoundly sorry for my actions and wish to resolve this matter to everyone’s satisfaction as soon as possible.’
Cowed by the death threats and hate mail she received – some wrote that she was ‘worse than Hitler’ – Ms Bale retreated from public life entirely.
One of the few people who still sees her regularly, is a neighbour, who was around when the story exploded and has known Ms Bale throughout its aftermath.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, she told the Daily Mail: ‘Mary has never got over her notoriety.
‘She was vilified by people across the world. Most people have long forgotten it but not everyone and she doesn’t feel forgiven.
‘She resigned from her job in the aftermath of the furore and never reestablished a proper career.
‘She leads a very very quiet life now and rarely speaks to anyone. I think she remains deeply embarrassed and thinks that’s all she will ever be known for.’
Another sympathetic local, mother-of-two Diana, a pet owner herself, said the unfortunate incident had ‘plagued Mary over the years and she had never been able to live down the shame’.
She added: ‘At times she struggles and I do feel sorry for her.’
Diana, who has a cat and dog, said she thought Mary would be ‘relieved’ to learn that Lola had gone on to live a long life.
After the incident in August 2010 it would later emerge that Ms Bale’s father was in critical condition at the time after a fall and he would die shortly before his daughter was ordered to appear in court.
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A third neighbour alluded to this, saying: ‘Obviously it was a weird thing for her to do but when learned that her father was dying at the time – he passed just a few months later – it was clear she was not in a good place at the time she did it. Those of us who know about her are broadly sympathetic.’
Lola’s owners Darryl and Stephanie Mann, who both still live nearby, rescued their beloved four-year-old tabby from the bin after being trapped inside for 15 hours.
When they checked CCTV footage they were astonished to learn how she had got there – and furiously posted the video online.
In the days before the widespread adoption of Ring doorbells and similar devices, footage from front door mounted security cameras was much more of a novelty than it is now – and the couple later said they were astonished by how the video had blown up.
Lola, a former stray before the couple adopted her as a family pet, died from old age in 2021 but her death has not been reported until now.
It is understood she had a ‘very nice life’ despite the bin trauma.
The Manns declined to speak about her passing this week. They are understood to have forgiven Mary.
Police declined to get involved at the time but later the RSPCA mounted a private prosecution against Ms Bale which was held at the city’s magistrates court that October.
Ms Bale pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a cat while a second charge of not providing the cat with a suitable environment was dropped.
The court heard that she lived a few streets away from the cat’s owners and although she did not know them she had met and petted Lola previously.
Her solicitor said his client could offer no explanation for her actions, adding: ‘Ms Bale, daily, almost hourly, for the past two months has asked herself that very question,’ he said.
He added that she had felt forced to quit her bank job after 27 years.
District Judge Caroline Goulborn said the potential for harm to the cat had been ‘substantial’ but the reality was she had not been hurt – and she took into account the vilification Ms Bale had received.
But the judge added: ‘I accept you were in a stressful situation but that’s no excuse for what you did.’
Ms Bale was arrested on August 25, 2010, after she was filmed throwing a cat in a wheelie bin
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. She was unavailable for comment this week
In addition to a £250 fine, Ms Bale was ordered to pay costs of £1,171 and banned from keeping or owning animals for the next five years.
She is not thought to have attempted to acquire any pet since the ban expired 12 years ago.
Ms Bale has been unavailable for comment.
The Daily Mail has omitted details of her exact whereabouts and other personal details.
