CONVICTED (2022) | Aidan John Reece Malone, born 16 August 1993, of Owbridge Court, Midland Street, Hull HU1 2RJ – neglected the needs of a young kitten with agonising burns caused when she “fell into a bath of scalding water”.

Aidan Malone, who goes by the name AJ Malone, admitted failing to take steps that were necessary to ensure that the needs of a cat called Morgana were met on August 2, 2019, by not ensuring she had a suitable environment to live in.

Malone took the eight-week-old kitten named Morgana to the PDSA vets after she suffered burns to her paws and abdomen.

RSPCA Inspector Jilly Dickinson attended the vets following a call about the kitten’s condition. She described how she had suffered extensive burn wounds to her legs, paws and underside.

Inspector Dickinson said: “Morgana was in great discomfort, despite being on pain relief. She could not sit or lie down properly and was crouching in a very uncomfortable, unnatural position.

“Her eyes kept drooping shut as if almost falling asleep but then she was nodding back awake. When being moved or touched, she would squirm and vocalise until she was no longer being touched.

“She was wrapped in a blanket to stabilise her position and, whilst resting her head on the blanket, she seemed to fall asleep.

“However, she appeared to be very tired but unable to find a position which made the pain and discomfort more bearable, despite the medication she was on. It was heartbreaking to see her in such a state.”

Malone told the court that the kitten had got underneath a gap in the bathroom door and had subsequently fallen into the bath which he had left unattended.

The court heard how the vet report stated that: “In my opinion, the needs of Morgana have not been met to the extent required by good practice due to the person responsible for the welfare of this animal failing to provide a suitable environment.”

Malone said he was an inexperienced cat owner and he had taken the cat to the vet on three separate occasions as he was concerned about her condition.

He accepted that he did not take such reasonable steps to provide a suitable environment for Morgana to live by failing to ensure the door to the bathroom was secured enough to avoid Morgana ever entering the bathroom without his knowledge.

He also explained that he had since changed the bathroom door to ensure a similar incident would not happen again.

He originally denied the offence but later changed his plea.

Malone denied two charges of causing unnecessary suffering to the cat by failing to ensure reasonable care and supervision and by failing to seek veterinary care to address a scald to her body. Those matters were dismissed.

Morgana was signed over into the care of the RSPCA where she has been receiving treatment. She will now be re-homed.

Sentencing: two-year conditional discharge; £327 in costs and charges. Banned from owning or keeping all animals for two years (expires January 2024).

Hull Daily Mail