Woman cautioned and told to repay cash over cat fundraiser
A woman who admitted taking more than
£2,700 donated by the Gosport community to commemorate a beloved cat has been ordered to pay it back by police.
It follows a police investigation after the artists who created a memorial to ‘Tilly the Cat’ were not paid after a fundraising initiative.
Now police have said the person responsible for the misappropriation has been cautioned.
Police said: “A 44-yearold woman was interviewed under caution, where she admitted to spending money from the fundraiser.
“Following a review of the circumstances and in consultation with the victim, the 44-year-old woman has been given a conditional caution – with the condition that the full funds of £2,735.50 must be paid back to the victim.”
Tilly the Bengal cat was something of a local celebrity in Gosport before she was tragically hit by a car in October.
Her Facebook page,
Tilly’s Gosport Adventures, documented antics such as the feline going into shops and even visiting the local police station, where she was embraced as an honorary “police cat”.
Owner Caroline Oakes commissioned Us-based artists Remy and Paul Hoggard to create a bronze effigy of Tilly. The pair are accomplished “sand artists” and also created a sand sculpture of the cat.
The effigy has now been sent to Caroline, but she claims that the artists have not received the payment which was so generously raised through donations.