A terrified woman was left fearing for the safety of her pet cat after her boyfriend grabbed it from her property during a heated argument.
Sean Caddle repeatedly kicked at the woman’s car after she locked herself inside it during the incident.
After the 27-year-old grabbed her cat, the woman was able to persuade him to “post” it through the car window to her, at which point Caddle tried to open the car door.
Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard the attack only ended when police were called.
Fiscal depute Lauren McMannus said: “The accused was previously in a relationship with the complainer.
“At around 10am, the complainer drive the accused to Asda where she was to use the ATM to give money to him.”
‘Posted’ cat through car window
Ms McMannus said when she got back in the car Caddle began calling her derogatory names after seeing a text message notification from another male.
Sometime later, she was near her home address when Caddle ran out in front of her car.
Ms McMannus said: “She was sitting outside her flat talking to her father on the telephone and the accused was outside her car screaming at her through the passenger window and trying to get into the car.
“She put down the window a little bit.
“He spat at the passenger window and it landed on her back and on the inside of the door.
“The complainer saw the accused coming out of her flat with her cat.
“He was holding the cat and still shouting and screaming.
“She was concerned about the cat and she asked the accused to post it through the window to her.
“The accused tried to get his hand in to open the door.
“Then he has forcefully kicked the wing mirror off. He has walked around the car kicking and shouting.
“Police attended and the complainer was still in the car and extremely stressed and crying.”
Relationship is finished
Caddle’s solicitor said: “This clearly was no doubt frightening for the complainer to experience.
“There’s no shying away from the fact that the situation is a serious one.
“It’s clear from the report that there’s certain factors, including the deterioration of his mental health related to this incident.
“He discovered that the complainer had spent a proportion of his wage without his consent and that tipped him over the edge.
“He accepted full responsibility at an early stage. He expresses remorse for his behaviour.
“The relationship is over. He’s learned a salutatory lesson.”
Caddle, of Driers Drive, Linlithgow, admitted behaving in a threatening and abusive manner towards the woman at an address in Dunfermline and at a supermarket in the town on March 10 this year.
Sheriff Pino di Emideo fined him £400 and imposed a non-harassment order for a period of four months.