In one of the worst cases of Animal cruelty the RSPCA has ever seen, an Adelaide woman who left her 14 cats to starve in her apartment for so long they ate each other has been convicted of animal cruelty.
RSPCA inspectors raided the 43-year-old woman’s Woodville West home in in September last year and discovered only one of the 14 cats was still alive, reports the ABC.
According to Chief inspector Andrea Lewis the feline was “completely emaciated” and clinging to life on the filthy property.
“When RSPCA inspectors arrived at the property, the one surviving cat, completely emaciated, was crying out for us to hurry up and open the door,” Ms Lewis said.
The RSPCA released a video of their arrival at the woman’s house.
“Is that a dead cat that’s been eaten by the other cats?” one inspector asks.
“Yeah, there’s a couple,” another responds.
Trooper was found emaciated and clinging to life inside the putrid home. PHOTO: RSPCA.
Trooper is on the mend after surviving the ordeal. PHOTO: RSPCA.
The only surviving cat ‘Trooper’ – who ate the remains of the other cats to stay alive – was rescued and rehabilitated.
“It’s amazing. I think if he hadn’t survived it would have been one of the worst days for our people,” Ms Lewis said.
“He seems like a well-adjusted cat and he’s been adopted to some people who really adore him so we hope he has a good rest of his life.”
The defendant in the case had failed to attend numerous court appearances and as such was remanded in custody on 7 November 2016.
On Wednesday she was sentenced in the Port Adelaide Magistrates Court, where her mental health issues were taken into consideration. She was convicted and handed a ban on owning animals and fined a few hundred dollars – a punishment the RSPCA called “insufficient”.
“Without making judgements about people’s mental health, it’s a difficult one for us, we’re always advocating for harsher penalties for animal cruelty and this was a particularly horrible case,” said Ms Lewis.
“It’s not okay to leave your animals, there’s people out there that can help.”
The RSPCA has used the incident to warn people to be responsible pet owners.
“If you can no longer care for your pets, ask friends, families or neighbours. Call your local council, or take them to an animal shelter,” said the RSPCA in a Facebook statement.
