CONVICTED (2016) | Christopher Hurst, born c. 1977, of Wharton Court, Hoole Lane, Chester CH2 – drowned his pet cat in the bath in an outburst of anger.
Hurst, who works as an aircraft fitter with Airbus, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
The court heard how Hurst held the 8yo black longhair cat, named Charlie, under the water for 15 seconds until he died.
Scratch marks found on Hurst’s hands were consistent with the cat struggling against him.
Hurst, who drank every day to self medicate for his supposed mental health problems, had owned Charlie since he was a kitten.
He said he had tried to rehome the pet because the cat had been ripping up his neighbours’ property and keeping everyone in the apartment block up all night.
Cheshire Police were called after reports of a disturbance at Hurst’s flat.
Hurst said he had run the bath for himself, but told officers he just ‘lost it’ and ‘it had all happened very quickly’.
He held Charlie down underneath the water until he had drowned.
Christopher Murphy, prosecuting, said: “The vet said these were cruel and inhumane actions on a perfectly healthy cat for no reason whatsoever.
“The drowning would’ve resulted in severe mental trauma and psychological suffering for Charlie.”
Hurst had one previous conviction, for assaulting a police officer when he was arrested later on September 12, 2015.
He was also too drunk to be interviewed on the same day.
Speaking about the case RSPCA inspector Anthony Joynes said it was “one of the most appalling and upsetting cases” he had dealt with.
He said: “The cat was a generally healthy pet who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and for that he paid the ultimate price.
“It was an inhumane ending for this cat and utterly barbaric. The cat would have suffered to an unimaginable extent, both physically and mentally through panic and terror.”
Sentencing: Jailed for 18 weeks. Banned from keeping animals for life.