CONVICTED (2015) | Paul Wenlock, born 22/06/1972, of Medway, Maldon CM9 – left his pet cat to suffer for months with a ‘de-gloved’ tail
Paul Wenlock admitted causing unnecessary suffering to tortoiseshell Lili when he appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court.
The RSPCA was called in August 2015 after Lili was found by a member of the public with a ‘de-gloved’ tail – a term used to describe where the skin had been ripped off the flesh.
It is believed she had been suffering with this untreated and very painful injury since she had been in a traffic accident several months before.
RSPCA inspector Caroline Richardson said: “Poor Lili was in great pain and is likely to have been in this state for several months. Her tail had no skin or fur – it was just one redraw wound. And she left a trail of blood behind her.
“The defendant had taken her to a vet with the injury in April and said a car had driven over the tail. Then he failed to take her back to the vet or treat the painful injury in any way”.
Lili recovered and was made available for rehoming.
Sentence: four-month suspended prison sentence; 200 hours’ unpaid work; £1,056.94 in costs and fines; banned from keeping cats for five years (expired November 2020).
Lili was hit by a car in April and was taken to the vets a week later which was paid for by his Ex wife as “Paul said he didn’t have the money to pay it.” His Ex wife thought that after paying this for him he had taken Lili to have the operation to have the tip of her tail removed. Unfortunately Lili never had this done. In August their oldest son contacted his mum and told her Paul wants the cats gone and gone now because Paul was looking after them for his Ex wife because one was her cat and Lili was their children’s cat but Paul said at the time both of them were hers. His Ex wife and a friend went into the house and took the cats but they couldn’t believe what they saw when they saw Lili’s tail. Pauls Ex wife was told by him he never had the op done as he didn’t have the money for it even though his Ex had told him the RSPCA, Cat Protection ect would help him with fee’s. As far his Ex now it was done and she wasn’t in pain anymore (she never went to the house). If it wasn’t for his Ex’s friend having them for her even though she had 6 cat’s herself, who knows what would have happened to that poor Lili and her brother Garfield. The punishment that Paul Wenlock was given was no where near good enough. He also had their family dog who he found out was riddled with cancer, he left her without pain relief for a year or have her put down (as he was advised by the vet) because he didn’t want to say goodbye to her, she was 14 years old when she died so she wasn’t a puppy, she had a long and good life until Paul and his Ex wife split up.