Owner hacked pet cat's leg off

AMY Matthews joked to her daughter that Oscar's amputated leg had been thrown on to the roof of a neighbour's house. *WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE*

Amy Matthews and Dharme Kinsey. Picture: Facebook

*WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGE*

OSCAR, a Persian moggy, ran into the path of a car and suffered nasty injuries.

But worse was to come for Oscar until the RSPCA stepped in.

His Bundaberg owners, Dharme Kinsey and Amy Matthews, did not take Oscar to the vet and his mangled leg worsened as the days went by.

Kinsey then got a knife and without anaesthetic chopped off Oscar's "dead" blackened right front leg.

Picture: Craig Warhurst

Matthews joked to her daughter that Oscar's amputated leg had been thrown on to the roof of a neighbour's house.

ANIMAL CRUELTY: Text messages sent by Amy Matthews.

The disturbing details emerged in Bundaberg Magistrates Court where Kinsey and Matthews pleaded guilty to two charges each: that between December 10, 2016, and January 10, 2017, they failed to provide medical care for a broken leg after Oscar was hit by a car; and between January 1 and January 10 they breached their duty of care by failing to take reasonable steps to provide care for a serious infection suffered by Oscar after his leg was amputated.

Kinsey pleaded guilty to committing cruelty to an animal - causing Oscar unnecessary pain by amputating its leg with a knife and without pain relief or antibiotics.

RSPCA prosecutor Nicole McEldowney said Oscar was accidentally hit by a car driven by a neighbour just before last Christmas.

Oscar sustained a serious broken leg injury to his front right leg that left flesh and bone exposed. The couple did not seek veterinary treatment.

Then in early January, Matthews sent text messages to her adult daughter about Oscar and his injuries, saying they had no money for a vet, and she was worried someone would report them to the RSPCA.

ANIMAL CRUELTY: Text messages sent by Amy Matthews (below left) to her daughter about Oscar the cat, which had its leg amptutated by Dharme Kinsey (below right). Picture: Craig Warhurst

"(Oscar) gets around OK but there is flesh and bone exposed and smells bad..." one message read.

"Dad just cut cats leg off with a tommy hawk knife, didn't hurt him cause it was dead, now the dead legs on neighbours roof looking at me ha ha," read another.

Ms McEldowney said on January 10 an RSPCA inspector found Oscar in a dog kennel at the Branyan house with blood on his open shoulder wound.

He was seized and taken to a vet and found to be underweight and anaemic. The vet amputated the leg fully.

"(Matthews) denied chopping the leg off, saying it may have fallen off," Ms McEldowney said.

But when shown the text messages, Kinsey admitted to chopping it off.

"He says he saved Oscar's life by chopping off the leg as it was dying," Ms McEldowney said.

The RSPCA sought a jail term for Kinsey because of the cruelty, Ms McEldowney saying Oscar was left to suffer for a long period of time with a broken leg which was then amputated with a knife, left to suffer considerable pain with bone exposed with no anaesthetic and no wound care.

Ms McEldowney said the amputated leg had been thrown on to the roof.

But Kinsey disputed that.

He said the couple had another cat and two dogs including an American staffy and they were not mistreated, and begged they be able to keep their pets.

"I saved up a lot of money for the staffy. I'm shattered," Kinsey said.

"I worked with race horses. I am remorseful. I considered it humane what I did.

"And as for throwing the leg onto the roof it did not happen. I threw it into the bin."

"It's a one-off thing. I'm shattered I did it. I thought I was doing the right thing."

Mr Lavaring convicted the couple, fined them $1000 each and ordered Matthews pay $1100 in costs to the RSPCA.

Kinsey was sentenced to three months in jail, immediately suspended, for the act of cruelty.

Mr Lavaring ordered Kinsey to pay veterinary costs of $2800 to the RSPCA.

The couple were prohibited from having animals until December 31, 2025. Their remaining pets will be seized before Christmas.