A man who broke his pet cat’s leg in two places after throwing him to the ground has been disqualified from keeping animals indefinitely.
David Garner of Cromwell Terrace in Scarborough, grabbed one-year-old Kirby by the scruff of his neck after he admitted losing his temper when the cat had defecated on the floor of his flat.
The pet was thrown with such force that he had to have his right hind leg amputated as a result.
At a sentencing hearing at Scarborough Magistrates Court on 9 January, Garner was handed a 12 month community order after previously admitting one charge of being physically violent towards Kirby. He will not be able to contest the indefinite ban for ten years.
The court was told the incident happened on 4 December 2023 after Garner had woken up and found Kirby had been to the toilet inside the flat. As he tried to clean it up the cat had kept jumping up on the worktop so Garner grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him forcefully to the ground. Kirby meowed, but didn’t move, and Garner said he instantly knew something was wrong.
Late that evening Kirby arrived in a pet taxi at an out of hours veterinary practice after Garner had rung them to say his cat had a broken leg and was not weight bearing. He stated he couldn’t afford the treatment and verbally agreed to sign Kirby over to them.
In his written statement to the court the vet who saw Kirby described the cat as “petrified” on arrival and 100 per cent lame on his right hind leg. He was sedated and it was confirmed via x-ray that the tibia and fibula were broken. He was provided with pain relief overnight until the day team could operate the next day.
“In my opinion Kirby would have suffered unnecessarily as a result of the broken leg. This would have been incredibly painful at the time of the incident and would have required significant force to cause such a break,” said the vet.
The RSPCA was contacted about the incident and Kirby was passed into the charity’s care for rehoming.
Garner was subsequently interviewed by RSPCA Inspector Thomas Hutton and admitted responsibility for what had happened to his cat. The court was told he had denied having anger issues but had thrown a mug of hot tea across the room after being told by the officer that Kirby’s broken leg would need amputating.
Magistrates said the case was aggravated by the ‘substantial force’ that had been used against the cat.
In mitigation the court heard that Garner, who was also ordered to carry out a six month DRR programme and 15 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement Days, regretted his actions and was ashamed about the incident. It was said he was suffering from depression and had co-operated fully with the investigation and sought help for Kirby, who has since been happily rehomed by the RSPCA’s Bridlington, Driffield & District Branch.
Speaking after the case Inspector Hutton said: “Kirby had been subjected to unacceptable violence. We’d like to thank the vets who looked after him and made sure he got the care he urgently needed when he arrived late that night and in the days that followed. Over time he adjusted well to the loss of his leg and thanks to the team at our Bridlington cattery he found himself a safe and loving new home.”
Kirby was rehomed at the end of January last year and is now called Mooney. The couple who adopted him say he has ‘changed their lives forever’ and he is now thriving. They say despite having three legs, he is living life to the fullest and enjoys playing and running around their house with confidence and determination, proving just how strong and resilient he is.
