A MAN from Wallasey who subjected his pet cat to acts of violence that led to its death has been jailed for 12 weeks.

Wirral Magistrates Court heard the RSPCA was contacted in September last year by a veterinary practice when Kristian Murphy's five month-old black male cat Bagheera was brought in with what RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes described as "catastrophic injuries." 

Murphy, 25, from Mill Lane appeared before court facing an allegation of causing unnecessary suffering to Bagheera between August 16 and September 26 last year, by failing to exercise reasonable care and supervision and subjecting the cat to non-accidental injury likely to cause unnecessary suffering.

The court heard Bagheera had previously been brought to the vets on August 16 last year with a broken lower canine and acting 'drunk' and disorientated which Murphy said was due to him falling off the sofa.

He was brought in again on September 24 with a lame hind left leg, swollen face and bloodied nostrils which the owner said had occurred after a fall.

Two days later, he was brought in for the last time with new injuries that were so severe that he died on the vet table before treatment could be given.

He had a fractured left and right thigh bone, fractured pubic bone, dislocation of the ribs and a trauma on the right side of his head.

It was at this point that the RSPCA was contacted and Inspector Joynes seized the body.

A postmortem confirmed the vet's concerns that the injuries had been caused by numerous acts of physical violence.

Wirral Globe:

Bagheera died on the vet's table

Murphy pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison and banned from keeping animals for five years.

Inspector Joynes said: "This kitten was completely vulnerable and put his whole trust in him and he abused that trust by inflicting horrific violence on him.

"It's really upsetting for me as I'll never know exactly what happened behind closed doors and it's so frustrating when you can't help the animal involved because sadly Bagheera's injuries were so severe that he died before we even got there.

"Time and again Murphy presented Bagheera to the vets for treatment which may shock some people but it is actually quite common in cases of non-accidental injury.

"He always had an explanation but the vets felt that these injuries were not consistent given the history and when investigated by a specialist on non-accidental injury he found that Bagheera's injuries had been a result of physical abuse at the hands of Murphy.

"We are pleased that the outcome demonstrates how serious the judge deemed this case to be by issuing a ban and a jail sentence and hopefully this will prevent any other animals suffering as a result."