Ourimbah: Cathryn Richards convicted of animal cruelty to cat

A woman has been convicted of animal cruelty after failing to take her cat to the vet despite it having live maggots in its “severe facial condition”, a court has heard.

A 65-year-old woman has been sentenced after pleading guilty to committing an act of cruelty on an animal and being in charge of an animal but failing to provide veterinary treatment.

Cathryn Richards faced Wyong Local Court on Thursday where she was sentenced to a community corrections order for 18 months, fined $1200 — half of which was ordered to go to the RSPCA — and banned from owning another animal for five years.

An agreed set of facts state a member of the public took Richards’ adult Persian cross female cat to the Small Animal Specialist Hospital (SASH) at Tuggerah on October 5, 2020.

Adult Persian cat named Honey had a severe facial condition, which the owner left untreated for three months. Picture: supplied

“It was suffering from a severe facial condition,” the facts state.

The cat was treated with antibiotics and kept overnight before being taken to the RSPCA vet clinic at Rutherford the following day.

“The veterinary at Rutherford found the cat displayed an emaciated and significantly underweight body condition,” the facts state.

“There was a significant cutaneous lesion affecting the most rostral portion of nose, upper lip and maxillary bone. The remaining tissue of the nose, upper lip and maxillary bone was markedly necrotic, friable, ulcerated and haemorrhagic. Live maggots were present within the tissue affected areas.”

The cat had a severe facial condition with rotting flash and live maggots. Picture: supplied

The vet found there had been a failure to provide treatment for no less than three months.

“Further that it was highly likely, due to the extent of injury present, the chronic nature of the lesion and number of structures involved, that the cat would have been experiencing an extremely severe and high level of pain and discomfort, for a significant period of time,” the facts state.

The cat was euthanized.

RSPCA inspectors visited Richards’ home at Alex Close, Ourimbah, on Friday, October 16.

She told them she was the owner and was responsible for the cat.

The fact state she also told inspectors the cat had been in that condition for three months but she had not taken it to a vet.

They showed her three photos of the cat, which she signed and dated.

In sentencing her Magistrate Caleb Franklin said the neglect was a “serious example of offences of this kind”.