'Like a red rag to a bull': Animal experts have warned that the cat's colour could cause problems for her as other animals perceive any shade of red as a 'warning'The owner of a pink cat who was tracked down after a nationwide hunt has admitted she dyed her pet to match her hair.
Defiant Natasha Gregory said she was proud of her actions - and would even do it again.
The 22-year-old mother-of-two admitted using food colourant to turn the short-haired cat's fur a vivid shade of pink.
The fluorescent feline, named Oi! Kitty, is now so bright that she glows in the dark.
'It's my favourite colour, I just love it,' said Miss Gregory at her tiny terraced home in Swindon, Wiltshire.
'I've dyed my own hair pink and I adore wearing pink clothes. Turning Oi! Kitty pink just seemed like a good idea.
Oi! Kitty's shocking appearance sparked an RSPCA investigation after she was found roaming in a back garden.
A nationwide appeal was launched to find the person responsible for dyeing her white fur, with animal welfare officers believing it was a sick prank.
But after seeing the widespread media coverage, Miss Gregory contacted officials to claim back her pet, which had gone missing days before.
Defiant: Natasha Gregory, 22, insists she would dye her cat pink again as 'it is my favourite colour'. The cat's appearance sparked an RSPCA investigationThe self-described 'animal lover' who lives with her boyfriend of five years Michael Dennis, along with his daughter and their own two children, then confessed to dyeing the cat pink.
'I read the instructions on the bottle of food colouring and there was nothing to say that it was harmful to humans or animals. We eat the food the dye is used on, so I knew it wasn't toxic.
'I just poured some of the liquid over my hands and robbed them together and then over the cat. I was careful to avoid her face and eyes though,' added Miss Gregory, who is unemployed.
'She didn't seem to mind and I think she looked lovely.'
Miss Gregory said Oi! Kitty used to belong to her sister Lisa who had dyed her once before.
'I took over looking after Oi! Kitty last week. She is a house cat and a year old and doesn't normally go out,' she said.
'Last weekend I let her out to go to the loo and she sat on the fence and wouldn't come back in, so I decided to let her stay there. Then she disappeared and I was very worried about her.
Row: Vet Penny Gillespie, left, branded the dyeing of the cat 'cruel', but Miss Gregory claims there is nothing in food colouring that can harm animals'I advertised the fact she was pink and had vanished on my Facebook page and then, all or a sudden she is a media star and is all over the news.
'I have contacted the RSPCA to get her back and the lady I spoke to said she didn't think it would be a problem. But I'm going to have to wait until they go back to work today.'
Despite being branded cruel by vet Penny Gillespie, who has been caring for the cat since she was found in a back garden, Miss Gregory said she doesn't regret doing it.
'People have made this massive cruelty thing out of just food colouring. People do it to dogs. You often see it with dogs on TV so what's the difference with a cat?
'I would never hurt an animal. It's just food colourant. I would never put proper dye on an animal but I know food colourant is alright.'
Asked if she would dye Oi! Kitty again she said: 'Yeah, I love pink. I'd love a cat that's always pink.'
Claire Guest, an animal behavioural expert, warned of the danger of colouring animals.
'My feeling would be that if she was a very bright colour other animals might react to her differently because anything based on red is an alarm colour in nature,' she said.
'The saying "red rag to a bull" is real stuff. Horses, dogs and bulls see red more strongly, especially moving reds. They see it and start to get agitated - it is a warning colour for them.'
source :dailymail
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