Two cats who were thrown out with the rubbish and were on the brink of death have finally got a new owner.
Katie Arrowsmith drove a 400-mile round trip after hearing about the plight of Tigress and Binky.
The malnourished moggies were found living among black bin bags.
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Carly Brown – their old owner – was convicted of neglecting the felines.
The sibling pair were taken from her home in Blyth, Northumberland and cared for by the RSPCA at it’s Great Ayton Animal Centre near Whitby, North Yorkshire
Katie, of Edinburgh, then drove 200 miles there and back to get them.
The 45-year-old has renamed the cats Esme and Freyja, as reported on Need To Know.
Katie – whose cat Willow passed away – said: “I said I wasn’t going to get another cat for a year.
“But I’d come home at night and the place just felt empty.
“My dad suggested getting two so they could keep each other company which I thought was a good idea.
“I looked at several local rescue organisations in Scotland but no-one had a pair that needed a home together.
“I then spoke to a friend who had previously adopted from Great Ayton and she suggested I try there.”
Photographer Katie added: “When I saw them it felt like it was meant to be and I put in an application form.
“It was a 400-mile round trip to the rehoming centre but I knew as soon as I saw them they were going to be my girls and I wouldn’t have thought twice about driving even further.
“Within an hour of getting them home Esme was on my knee, they were just so friendly and I was surprised at how quickly they settled in.”
“When I come home they are usually snuggled up together on the windowsill or on my bed, they are my little guardian angels, without a doubt.”
Brown, 30, now of Milburn Road in Ashington, has been banned from keeping animals for four years.
He also has a year-long community order.
She was sentenced at Bedlington Magistrates Court on 3 September after being found guilty of two Animal Welfare Act 2006 offences.
RSPCA Inspector Rowena Proctor said: “I remember ringing the vets first thing in the morning to check the cats had survived the night because I didn’t think they would.
“Both of them had literally been thrown out with the rubbish. They were at death’s door and I don’t think they would have got through another night out in the cold in the condition they were in.
“Seeing the pictures of Esme and Freyja now in their wonderful new home warms my heart.
“They have healed, gained strength and learnt to trust again and I’m so grateful to Katie for travelling so far to adopt them.
“And to the staff at Great Ayton and our partner cattery for nursing them back to health.”
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