CONVICTED (2024) | Natalie Hewson, born c. 1988, of Phillip Lawson House, Norfolk Road, Newton, Chester CH2 2LD – left her severely ill elderly cat to die alone in her abandoned flat.
Hewson was prosecuted by the RSPCA after the 13-year-old pet, called Zippy, died alone in the empty flat in Norfolk Road, Chester.
During an appearance at Chester Magistrates Court she pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to Zippy and failing to meet her needs during August and September 2023.
The RSPCA investigated Hewson after receiving a report that a cat had died after being left unattended at Hewson’s home. Zippy’s body had been removed from the property a week earlier by someone who knew Hewson and buried at another address.
In written evidence to the court, RSPCA Inspector Anthony Joynes who collected Zippy’s remains, said: “I was directed to the rear of the garden and observed a tabby and white female deceased cat which had been removed from a shallow grave prior to my arrival.
“The carcass of the cat was in poor bodily condition with ribs, spine and pelvic bones palpable through the skin.”
Post-mortem examination report showed Zippy had chronic kidney disease that had progressed to renal failure and led to her death on or around September 4, 2023.
Hewson later told Inspector Joynes her cat appeared “fine” three to four days prior to this.
The vet who carried out the post mortem said adequate supervision of Zippy should have alerted her owner to observe excessive thirst and the need to seek prompt veterinary advice regarding cause and treatment.
“A cat affected by chronic renal disease will display outward signs of clinical abnormality including weight loss – not unusual for a senior cat – but also excessive thirst and urination,” said the vet.
“Each of these observations relies upon the regular (at least daily) and frequent supervision of the cat in order to be able to identify such abnormalities.
“The evidence indicates that Zippy had been left unsupervised for repeated periods of four days, and when she was supervised this was for very short periods of time, just enough for the responsible person to provide further food and water without a significant period of observation of the cat’s behaviour.
“In my opinion the needs of Zippy had not been met due to a lack of adequate supervision with a failure to adequately monitor her and ensure she was not showing signs of illness or disease. The failure to meet the needs her needs also led to her having unrecognised chronic renal disease which had progressed to renal failure.”
Inspector Joynes made repeated attempts during October and November 2023 to contact Hewson to interview her about Zippy but got no response.
On November 15 the inspector spoke to a man at a property at Llay in Wrexham where Hewson was said to be staying and left a message asking her to get in touch urgently.
Numerous further attempts to make contact were made until an interview was finally conducted on December 6.
In it, Hewson told the officer she had left the property in Chester because of asbestos and that the council had taken longer than anticipated to fix it. She accepted she had been to the flat about ten times in 30 days, staying for about ten minutes at a time, but admitted she should have done more.
She said she was “devastated” when Zippy died and didn’t know she was unwell.
Speaking after the case Inspector Joynes said: “Life often throws changes in circumstance at us but it’s important to ensure the needs of animals you are responsible for are always met. Zippy was let down by her owner at a time when she needed her most and with tragic consequences.”
Sentencing | 12-month community order with 140 hours of unpaid work; £240 costs and a victim surcharge of £114. Two-year disqualification order applicable to all animals.
