Mary Bale, 45, was also banned from keeping animals for five years after admitting causing unnecessary suffering to the cat, a four-year-old tabby called Lola. Bale's home in Coventry, central England, was at one point put under police guard after her actions shocked animal lovers and even attracted death threats.
Lola was found unharmed by her owners Darryl Mann and his wife Stephanie, crying for help inside the bin about 15 hours after she had gone missing in August. Bale was traced after Mann, who had installed security cameras outside his house after vandals damaged his car, put footage of the incident on YouTube.
District Judge Caroline Goulborn told Bale at Coventry Magistrates Court that she had taken into account that media interest in the case had led to the former bank worker being "vilified."
The court heard that that Bale, who had faced a maximum fine of 20,000 pounds or up six months' imprisonment, could provide no answer to why she had acted in such an "impulsive and irrational" way, the Press Association reported.
