A CAT sprayed with paint and left to die in a bin is set to star in a nationwide television advert.

Katie was seven weeks old when she was found trapped in a cardboard box in a domestic bin with its lid shut after a member of the public heard her cries.

The RSPCA rescuer then discovered the distressed ginger moggy had been sprayed with red paint.

She was cleaned up and later taken to a branch of Pets At Home in Hall Lane, Chingford, which was holding a rehoming event.

There she met store manager Kim Saunders and the pair immediately hit it off.

They are now to feature in a Pets At Home advertising campaign, with Katie starring as a happy and healthy pet.

Mrs Saunders, 42, said: "She was so cute and lovely I took an instant shine to her.

"When I brought her home she was like a baby in my husband Keith's arms. She rarely leaves his side.

"I was really shocked at what happened to her - she was a real state when she came in. To do that to a kitten is just incredibly cruel."

Katie has now recovered from her ordeal and also enjoys the company of Mrs Saunder's other cats, Moggy, Socks and Devon.

But Maria Miller, the founder of Little Darlings Pet Rescue, which organised the re-homing event, said Katie's predicament was all too common.

"She could have died out there - it's cruel but this happens all the time," she said.

"Sometimes people dump them when they can't afford the vet fees but this was evil."

She urged people who felt they could no longer look after an animal to contact her organisation on 020 8524 8894.

Katie was chosen after the company invited cat owners to submit pictures.

The advert can be seen on television from Wednesday (May 16).

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