Banned pet owner kept 50 cats in squalid conditions

A 60-YEAR-OLD man banned from owning cats was found living with 50 of them at his property in South Wales, according to the RSPCA.

- JONATHON HILL

David Thomas, of Mountain Ash, was banned from keeping cats for life after animals were found in unsuitable conditions. But the RSPCA found he was keeping 50 cats at his home in equally awful conditions despite the ban.

Thirty-five of the animals were seized in October 2023, and in February 2024, a further 15 were rescued. On that occasion RSPCA deputy chief inspector Gemma Cooper said she couldn't believe her eyes at the state of the property and the number of cats there.

The RSPCA, assisted by South Wales Police, found the animals were kept in cramped metal cages which were full of faeces and urine. They also found cats kept in locked dark cupboards.

At Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court, Thomas pleaded guilty to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act and was found guilty of two other offences after a trial. One offence related to a breach of a ban, imposed by Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates’ Court on September 13, 2023, when Thomas had been disqualified from keeping cats.

The other offences comprised causing unnecessary suffering to a cat by failing to provide proper and necessary veterinary care and attention for his lesions, failing to take such steps to ensure the needs of 35 cats were met, and a final offence of failing to ensure the needs of 15 cats were met.

The court heard from DCI Cooper, who said she attended the Pentwyn Avenue property on September 28, 2023, after the RSPCA received reports Thomas was still keeping multiple cats despite being disqualified.