I spent £4000 stuffing my dead CAT after he was hit by car – my boyfriend hates it but it’s the best money I ever spent
A HEARTBROKEN cat owner who splurged £4,000 stuffing her dead mog after it was hit by a car insists it's the best money she's ever spent.
Nursing assistant Harriet Peace, 28, says her boyfriend was "horrified" with what she has done to their ginger cat Tango but she doesn't care.
Harriet, from Ayrshire, in Scotland, says she opted to preserve the 9-year-old cat as she couldn't bear the thought of burying him.
She said: "He was like my child, it was a huge loss to me.
"If you had the chance to have your pet preserved how it was before for the rest of your life, wouldn't you do it?"
The cat had no visible injuries and he just looked asleep after being struck in the 28-year-old's village of Mauchline.
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So, immediately after the incident, Harriet bunged Tango in the freezer to prevent him from decaying.
She later jumped in the car and headed south to taxidermist specialists Get Stuffed in London.
The feline - mown down in September 2021 - is now preserved forever in a sleeping position with his eyes closed, thanks to the wonders of taxidermy.
The process - which took seven months - intially left Harriet very apprehensive and she was panicking Tango might look different once stuffed.
But as soon as she set eyes on her preserved best friend she said "it was all worth it".
She added: "It is the best decision I ever could have made.
"He looks so realistic. He's exactly how he was and I'm so happy."
But not everyone was feeline as keen on the decision and Harriet explained many felt the £4,000 procedure was "disgusting or degrading".
Though the 28-year-old says detractors can get stuffed as the process was "done very respectfully".
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Taxidermy involves preserving an animal's body to appear life-like and only a select few businesses in the country offer it for pets.
The dead-cat owner now wants to challenge notions about taxidermy and encourage other people who can afford it to consider getting their pets preserved.