A man from Newport who claimed the serious injuries his daughter’s kitten suffered while in his care were ‘accidental’ has been banned from keeping animals for life after a prosecution by the RSPCA.
The kitten, called Moxey, was found with skull damage and tail fractures after spending time at the flat of Andrew John Edwards, who initially claimed that two separate incidents where the cat suffered physical abuse at his hands had been ‘unintentional’. Magistrates disagreed and said his claims were “nonsense”.
Edwards, pleaded guilty to two offences under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and was sentenced at Newport Magistrates’ Court on February 24. As well as the disqualification the defendant received a 24-week prison sentence, which was suspended for 18 months,
The court heard how the RSPCA started an investigation after Inspector Simon Evans attended the PDSA clinic in Cardiff on December 24, 2024 when he was shown the four-month-old tabby kitten which Edwards had brought in four days earlier. X-rays showed the feline had bony damage to the front of his skull and there were a number of older fractures/dislocations to his tail. The kitten’s lip was split and there was an injury to the right eye along with swollen genitalia.
The inspector authorised an attending police officer to seize the feline and he was placed in the care of the RPSCA.
When the defendant was interviewed at his home, he admitted he may have kicked and trodden on the cat unintentionally on two separate occasions.
In a statement presented to the court, Inspector Evans said: “The defendant said he might have kicked the kitten accidentally to the head while he was hiding under his bed. On another occasion he said he trod on Moxey while he was hanging up a coat, but he claimed he would not have heard the cat crying out as he had ear phones on at the time.”
Edwards told the inspector that Moxey had been in good health when his daughter placed him in his care at his flat at the beginning of November 2024. He claimed he was unaware of the serious injuries suffered by the kitten and he had not thought anything of the presence of ‘nobbly’ bits on the cat’s tail. He tried treating the kitten’s split lip with an antiseptic spray, but eventually took the feline to the vets when his daughter returned to the flat on December 16 and noticed the cat had a cloudy eye.
After receiving treatment with the PDSA , Moxey was transferred into the care of the Merthyr RSPCA clinic where he continued his recovery.
A vet who examined the kitten said: “The cat’s right eye appeared twisted in the socket with some greying of the lens, but there appeared to be no pain reaction on feeling over the affected parts of his body. Pain relief was continued for a further week and he was signed off, though checked on a few other occasions for ongoing care.”
Magistrates told the defendant that it had been “nonsense” to claim that the cat’s injuries were accidental.
In mitigation, the court was told the defendant had some mental health issues and that his daughter was now no longer speaking to him. He was ordered to pay court costs of £1,400 and a victim surcharge of £114.
Moxey has made a good recovery and he has been returned to the defendant’s daughter.
