A cat was left ‘absolutely saturated with fly eggs’ following weeks of severe mistreatment, a court has heard.
Fendi the tabby had been found struggling to breathe during a visit by an RSPCA inspector.
His owner, Nicola Sabrina Alexandra Wright, was this week banned from keeping cats for 10 years.
She had been charged with causing ‘unnecessary suffering’ to the 15-year-old cat, in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
Wright let the animal become severely ill between September and November 2021, Willesden Magistrates Court heard this week.
RSPCA inspector Nicole Broster had found Fendi in a ‘distressing’ condition in a garden in Harrow, Middlesex, after she received reports of his poor health.
Speaking after the verdict, she said: ‘I had found poor Fendi lying down in a nearby garden. He was in a terrible condition.
‘His fur was absolutely saturated in fly eggs, and there was pus and blood coming out of his nose and eyes – I couldn’t see his face as there were so many flies on him.
‘He was lethargic, struggling to breathe and appeared very congested. He was also moving quite slowly and he was very thin – I could feel his hips, spine and ribs were very prominent when I stroked him. He also had bad hair loss on his rear right leg.’
Inspector Broster rushed the poorly cat to an RSPCA animal hospital in London to be examined.
There, a vet reported multiple serious medical conditions that would have caused suffering to Fendi.
The cat had a discharge of pus and blood on his face, was severely emaciated, his coat showed a bad fly egg infestation over his back, he was dehydrated and had anaemia.
In the vet’s professional opinion, Fendi’s ‘multiple comorbidities’ painted a picture of ‘avoidable, severe, active neglect’ over a period of four to eight weeks.
After treatment and investigations, it was concluded that the best course of action was for the 15-year-old cat to be put to sleep to end his suffering.
Inspector Broster added: ‘There is no excuse for causing an animal to suffer. No matter what the reason, neglecting an animal is completely unacceptable.
‘If someone is struggling to cope there are lots of organisations that can provide support and we would urge people to seek help.’
As well as being banned from keeping cats for 10 years, Wight has also been sentenced to a 12 month community order with a requirement of 80 hours unpaid work.
In addition, she was ordered to pay £200 costs.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.