Shot cat tethered to tree by its owner

An elderly cat was kept tethered to a tree for more than two weeks after it had been shot in the spine, a court heard.

Paul Rafferty failed to seek veterinary advice when his 11-year-old cat Tinkerbell came home, after being missing for three months, unable to use its right rear leg.

The 44-year-old kept the animal tied to a tree in his neighbour's garden in Wolverhampton for more than a fortnight before the RSPCA was tipped off, city magistrates heard.

Rafferty claimed he was decorating the house and "didn't want the noise to scare the cat".

He also said he feared Tinkerbell would be put to sleep if he took it to a vet for treatment.

Mr Roger Price, prosecuting for the RSPCA, said officers discovered the tied-up pet at the rear of Rafferty's home in Rough Hills Close, Ettingshall, in October last year.

Vets discovered the pet, which was dragging its rear leg, had chronic renal failure and had been shot in the spine with a pellet gun.

Mr Price said: "When Mr Rafferty was interviewed he said he knew something was wrong because her back leg looked deformed and she was limping but he didn't want to take her to the vet in case she was put to sleep.

"The vet said she is likely to have been suffering for more than two weeks and would have been in chronic pain."

The cat was later put to sleep and Rafferty handed a second male cat over to the RSPCA to be rehomed, the court heard.

Mr Frank Calleia, defending, said the incident only qualified as short-term animal neglect.

"He loved that cat but didn't know how to care for it appropriately," he added.

Rafferty admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal at yesterday's hearing and was bailed until a hearing next Wednesday.