An Argyll woman is warning people to be vigilant after her cat was mauled to death in its own garden by a dog.
The tragedy happened in the early hours of the morning as the family lay sleeping.
A sudden banging at the door woke Lyndsey and Max Buchanan of Connel, by Oban.
Their neighbour was holding their three-year-old black cat Tod, who had been killed.
The mauling took place some time between 5.30am and 6am on July 3.
Lyndsey, 31, and Max, 34, were playing white noise on a mobile phone to help their seven-week-old baby Fraser get to sleep.
So they did not hear the attack – but at least four other households that they know of did.
Cat killing reported to police
The incident has been reported to police and Argyll and Bute Council’s dog warden.
Lyndsey said: “We were woken up by our neighbours banging our door – they were holding Tod, who was already dead.
“The owner of the dog then appeared asking if we had seen his dog and my neighbours told him that it had killed my cat.
“The dog owner then tracked the dog down and returned it home, then came back to our house with his wife to apologise.”
Lyndsey Buchanan is devastated following the death of her cat Tod.
The terrified teacher continued: “There are many pets, both cats and dogs, on my street as well as young babies and pre-school aged children.
‘He was our little fur baby’
“We are devastated. He was a lovely cat that was particularly special to us as we had been unable to have a child for a long time. He was our little fur baby.
“Tod was such a lovely-natured wee thing – he won over the hearts of all our neighbours, even the ones who didn’t particularly like cats!
“He was very nosey, always going in and out of people’s houses keeping an eye on things in the neighbourhood.
“Tod was a real guard cat; he always slept under or beside the pram when it was in the garden. He took the job of watching over his family seriously. Tod will be sorely missed.”
Lyndsey posted a warning about the cat being mauled on the Information Oban Facebook page. She wrote: “I would hate for another tragedy to occur because of this dog getting loose again as it accessed our back garden….
“Our wee cat took the brunt this time and it cost him his life. Just wanted to make folk aware.”
Dog warden investigates
A police spokeswoman said: “Officers received a report of a cat being killed by a dog around 5.30am on Sunday July 3.
“Suitable advice was given and the incident was passed to the local dog warden.”
A spokeswoman for the council added: “We are aware of the incident and are currently investigating. It would be inappropriate to comment at this stage.”
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