CONVICTED (2016) | pet hoarder Maite Garcia aka Maite Garcia Rodriguez, born c. 1970, of Nightingale Lane, Wellingborough NN8 4TP – starved and neglected 20 pets.
Garcia pleaded guilty to 14 charges of animal cruelty and neglect.
Two of the charges related to the diets of five cats, which the RSPCA says were judged not “suitable.”
Seven domestic cats were not protected from pain, injury, suffering and disease as shown by an ear mite infection and were also not kept in a “suitable environment.”
An adult Bengal style cat called Sassy, was not taken to the vets when she was in “poor condition.
Garcia did not show the correct duty of care to a ragdoll style cat called Lily, and did not treat a rex type cat for an ulcerated eye.
A female bulldog with eye and skin conditions, a boxer dog by the name of Zeus and a bulldog with conditions “affecting her skin, eyes and ears,” were also included in the charges.
Wellingborough Magistrates’ Court heard how RSPCA inspectors visited Garcia’s house on August 5, 2015, after concerns that a cat was too skinny.
But after entering the property they found five dogs and 15 cats to have scaly skin, scabs and sores. They were also underweight, with some completely bald.
There was no evidence of food or water on the floor, with cats overcrowded and on tables and chairs.
Seven cats were found in an unsuitable wooden pen, with diarrhoea on the floor and litter trays saturated with excrement.
In a police interview, Garcia said she had not taken any of the animals to the vet since December 2014.
She said she was aware that her pets had a skin condition and had looked it up on the internet and used shampoos on them.
She also admitted that she knew some of them had eye conditions, but did not take them to the vet as she didn’t think they were suffering.
Garcia maintained that she did not believe they were in pain and said all of the pets were fed two meals a day. She claimed she spent up to £100 a month on dog food.
When asked by inspectors where the food was, she told them it was in the toilet and they hadn’t looked there – but the door was locked.
Among the pets she owned were male and female bulldogs, boxers, a Persian cat, Bengal cat and ragdoll cat.
The court heard that Garcia had received a pay-out of about £10,000 after winning an employment tribunal, much of which she used to buy the pets.
She claimed she could not afford to pay for the vets bills, but bought a kitten for £700 prior to the inspector’s visit.
Mitigating, Sean Smith told the court that Garcia was addicted to owning pets to make up for her unhappy home life.
He said: “This is not a case where the defendant is intending to hurt the animals.
“Buying an animal was like a hit, so powerful that she bought another, and another, and another, and in a short space of time she had collected a lot.
“She did not legislate for the cost of the vets bills.
“We are talking about someone who has not thought this through at all, clearly.”
Sentencing her, chairman of the bench John Baker said: “These are serious offences due to the number of animals and the neglect caused.
“You knew all along that you could not look after them.
“This clearly crosses the custody threshold but we believe that you need some help.”
RSPCA inspector Polly Underwood, who investigated the case, said: “There were so many animals in the house and there were signs of suffering.
“The dogs were thin and with skin conditions, and there was limited food and water available.
“There were also a number of cats at the property which were in a poor condition and as a result had to be removed.
“There were a large number of animals involved in this case and it is so important to get the message across that people should not take on more animals than they can cope with as it may lead to suffering.”
As Maite was banned from keeping animals, she had to give up three dogs, three cats, five rabbits and one parrot still in her care.
Sentencing | eight-week suspended prison term; 20-day rehabilitation programme; 140 hours of unpaid work; £500 in court costs plus £80 victim surcharge. Banned from keeping an animal for 10 years (expires July 2026)