An elderly couple has been left mortified after they received a letter from a nosy neighbour which accused them of "animal abuse" because they allow their cats to sit outside on the "hard ground". Fay Massey and Brian Helliwell, both 72, received the letter on August 5, and were stunned to read that their neighbour had been "monitoring" their driveway, where their six cats often like to sit.
The neighbour - who posted the letter anonymously - claimed they had even been in touch with several animal rights charities to report the couple for "abuse", as they said leaving the cats outside instead of giving them the "comforts of a home" was akin to leaving a child on the driveway all day. But the confused couple has insisted their "free-spirited" animals are free to come and go from the house as they please via a cat flap - as is the case with many felines across the UK.
