Tabby tab: search to cost €8,000
A garda helicopter was in the air for about three hours and a fixed-wing plane for around seven hours during the fruitless search for the animal.
Footage of one cat broadcast on RTÉ clearly showed that it was a large domestic tabby and not the puma said to be roaming around Monaghan.
Gardaí denied the operation in Monaghan was over the top, claiming they were working on information received and reacted accordingly.
It costs an estimated €1,000 an hour to keep the garda helicopter in the air and €750 for the fixed-wing craft. The cost includes maintenance, parts and wages of crew.
The operation to catch the cat also included three gardaí and four members of the Defence Forces, all of them marksmen, searching round-the-clock up to late last Tuesday.
The search wound down on Tuesday evening, although there was still some doubt over the genealogy of an animal captured on amateur footage. First reports that a big cat was on the loose began after the discovery of a dead calf which had not been killed by a dog or a fox.
Reported sightings followed and reports of a wild cat stalking the area gained momentum from last Saturday. It was then decided to step up the hunt and deploy the helicopter and aircraft.
The sightings centred on an area close to Monaghan town, but 12 miles away from where the calf was found savaged.
A helicopter was first deployed on Monday and remained in the area for around three hours.
It was replaced by the fixed-wing aircraft fitted with thermal imaging equipment allowing the crew to keep it in the air until that evening.
It was back again the following day and circled the area until lunchtime before being recalled.
