DEVESTATED cat lovers have called for dogs to be kept on leads in Maldon’s Promenade Park after an adored waterfront cat was killed.

Myrtle, an eight-year-old black and white cat, had become a feature at Cooks Boatyard in Maldon after setting up home on the tug boat Brent.

Residents, visitors and Brent’s owner Janet Hall all regularly fed Myrtle and have been left devastated by her death.

Myrtle was near the Brent when the dog, which was not on a lead, attacked her on Monday.

She suffered abdominal injuries and despite Janet rushing her to a vet in Purleigh she died en route.

Janet said: “It was really horrible. She was so beautiful – she had a beautiful coat and eyes.

“Her injuries were just dreadful.

A lot of people have already come along and said how sad they are. We have shed some tears.

“She was a waterfront character.”

Janet started feeding Myrtle, who is known by a number of different names, in 2011 and in 2013 volunteers who were working on the barge created the cat her own home.

She said: “We all called her different names but she knew the voices of the people who came to feed her,”

Janet is considering reporting the attack to Maldon District Council.

She has called for dog owners to act responsibly and keep their dogs on leads in the park.

She said: “In the area going past the boatyard and past the sandpit, where children play, dogs ought to be kept on leads.”

Christine Little, from Colne Engaine, was one of the people who used to feed Myrtle.

She described Myrtle as “the Maldon cat” and called for dogs to be kept on leads in case of future attacks.

The incident comes just months after the Friends of Promenade Park called for Maldon District Council to explore introducing by-laws requiring all dogs to be kept on leads in the park.

A ceremony to scatter Myrtle’s ashes will be held.