CONVICTED (2022) | |Nicola Sabrina Alexandrea Wright aka Nicola Oriade, born 1977, of Carmelite Walk, Harrow HA3 5NQ – mistreated her elderly cat over several weeks

Former company director Wright, who goes by Nikki Wright, was convicted of causing ‘unnecessary suffering’ to her 15-year-old cat named Fendi.

RSPCA inspector Nicole Broster found the male tabby in a ‘distressing’ condition in a garden in Harrow after she received reports of concern.

Speaking about the case, she said the cat was “in a terrible condition”.

She added: ‘His fur was absolutely saturated in fly eggs, and there was pus and blood coming out of his nose and eyes – I couldn’t see his face as there were so many flies on him.

‘He was lethargic, struggling to breathe and appeared very congested. He was also moving quite slowly and he was very thin – I could feel his hips, spine and ribs were very prominent when I stroked him. He also had bad hair loss on his rear right leg.’

Inspector Broster rushed the poorly cat to an RSPCA animal hospital in London to be examined.

There, a vet reported multiple serious medical conditions that would have caused suffering to Fendi.

The cat had a discharge of pus and blood on his face, was severely emaciated, his coat showed a bad fly egg infestation over his back, he was dehydrated and had anaemia.

In the vet’s professional opinion, Fendi’s ‘multiple comorbidities’ painted a picture of ‘avoidable, severe, active neglect’ over a period of four to eight weeks.

After treatment and investigations, it was concluded that the best course of action was for the cat to be put to sleep to end his suffering.

Inspector Broster added: ‘There is no excuse for causing an animal to suffer. No matter what the reason, neglecting an animal is completely unacceptable.

‘If someone is struggling to cope there are lots of organisations that can provide support and we would urge people to seek help.’

‘These aren’t irresponsible owners, they simply can no longer afford to feed their pets’

Sentencing | 12-month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work; £200 costs. Banned from keeping cats for 10 years (expires October 2032).

Metro