CONVICTED (2024) | Reece Glossop, born c. 2000, of Wharfedale Lawns, Wetherby, Leeds LS22 6PU – abandoned two cats in an unhygienic flat littered with faeces and hazards.
Glossop left his home over the festive season, leaving his cats Daisy and Mustafa behind for nine days to fend for themselves inside the filthy and hazardous flat.
No litter tray had been provided and RSPCA inspectors found faeces piled up on the floor which was also strewn with rubbish.
Glossop, who didn’t even have the decency to attend court for his first hearing, was found guilty in his absence of one offence under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.
In a a written statement read to the court RSPCA Inspector Emma Ellis described being met with a strong smell of ammonia in the communal area outside the flat during her visit on January 11, 2023.
The inspector met Glossop at the property, and he said he was cleaning to the flat.
She asked about the welfare of the cats and he said he had left on December 24 to go to London because of family issues. He said “someone was supposed to be looking after them”.
“He said he came back on December 28 to check on the cats, but he had to return to London and then he came back again on January 6. When I asked who was looking after the cats during that time he replied, ‘they were looking after themselves’,” said the inspector.
Glossop had left food in a bowl in the living room, but there was no water.
Daisy and Mustafa were in a normal body condition, but it was later found that Mustafa had a heart murmur, which could have been caused by stress.
In mitigation, the court heard how Glossop had been diagnosed with ADHD and suffered from psychosis. He had received therapy for a personality disorder while at a psychiatric unit.
Sentencing | 12-month community order with 20 hours of unpaid work and 15 hours of “rehabilitation”; £200 costs and £114 victim surcharge. Banned from keeping animals for just three years (expires April 2027).