'No excuse': RSPCA condemns pet owner who kept cats and dogs in squalid conditions

Cats were found 'scared' in the bathroom with no natural light and a litter tray that was 'overflowing with faeces' at the home of Stacey Rawling.

They were surrounded by black bags of rubbish on the floor and piles of waste in the bath. One cat was found dead when RSPCA officers raided the property in Montgomery Walk, West Bromwich in February.

Two Staffordshire bull terriers and eight other cats were rescued and will now be rehomed.

Birmingham Magistrates' Court was told on Monday that their suffering would have continued if it was not for the intervention of the RSPCA.

The animals were found living amongst piles of rubbish, faeces and urine is various rooms of the property, covering the carpets and floors. Many of the pets had no access to food or water.

Rawling, aged 31, said she had not cleaned the flat for two months.

Four cats were found crammed inside the dark bathroom with a flickering lightbulb their only source of light.

The cat that was found dead is thought to have starved.

Mr Rafe Turner, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said: "One cat was deceased at the time of intervention of the RSPCA and had been dead for a long period of time. Exactly how long is better known by the defendant but it entered several weeks.

"The defendant did not provide them with a suitable environment that was either hygienic or had sufficient space to be able to co-exist."

RSPCA officers were greeted with an overwhelming smell of excrement when they entered the flat on February 15.

The two dogs were found in separate small rooms. Rawling said they had been kept apart because 'the bigger one wanted to attack the smaller one' and that they did not get on with the cats.

She told police that she 'occasionally walked the dogs' but they 'spent most of their time' shut in the rooms.

The cats were said to have been nervous when they were rescued from the squalor.

Mr Turner said: "The animals would likely have suffered if the circumstances didn't change - that excludes the fact one that was in fact dead."

Rawling told investigators that she had been struggling and admitted she was unable to cope.

Mr Phillip Haycock, defending, said: "It is quite clear my client has a troubled background. She was clearly overwhelmed with the situation and was on a downward spiral."

Rawling pleaded guilty to ensuring the needs of animals were not met under the Animal Welfare Act.

She received a six-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, and must pay £680 in court costs.

Following the hearing, RSPCA officer Vicki Taylor, who investigated the case, said: "There is no excuse for animals having to live in dirty conditions. Animals need space and a clean environment. The surviving animals were clearly distressed in this unhygienic environment."