CONVICTED (2018) | Winston J Amos, born 10 November 1973, and Angela Amos, born 7 March 1967, both of Norwich Road, Wisbech PE13 2AT – abandoned their two cats when they moved house
Winston and Angela Amos locked cats Fluffy and Smudge outside their home in Great Ryburgh, north Norfolk, then moved almost 40 miles away to a new property in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.
Jonathan Eales, prosecuting, said a neighbour in Great Ryburgh first called the RSPCA when she saw the Amoses take some property on the bus and leave the cats in the kitchen, though they did return days later.
The RSPCA advised the neighbour to contact them if it happened again.
“Two days later Mr and Mrs Amos left the property and never returned,” said Mr Eales. “This time they turfed the cats outside and abandoned them.
“The cats were hanging round the front of the house.”
The couple were both charged with two counts of failing to meet the welfare needs of a cat or to protect a cat from suffering as a consequence of being left unattended at a property.
Mr Eales said the neighbour had kept the cats fed and watered while they were locked out.
The RSPCA visited the property at least five times between March 20 and 28, 2017, leaving notices on the door before eventually taking the cats into RSPCA care.
The defendants did not attend the court hearing.
Mr Amos admitted the offences in a letter sent to the court. He was sentenced in September 2017.
The case against Mrs Amos was adjourned until November 2017 while efforts were made to contact her. She was ultimately sentenced in January 2018.
Inspector Dean Astilberry tracked the couple down to their new address in Wisbech.
“Each of them admitted they were the owners of the two cats, that they had moved and were in a hurry,” said Mr Eales.
Angela Amos told RSPCA inspector Dean Astillberry that the two cats had ran away but prosecutor Mr Eales said this was untrue.
He added: “Reasonable owners would ensure there was a safe shelter for the cats if they returned home and they would ensure fresh food and water was available.
“Most owners would go back to the house on a regular basis, responsible owners would speak to neighbours and ask for contact if the cats returned.”
One of the cats was pregnant and both were suffering from ear mites and a flea infestation.
“They simply abandoned them, presumably hoping they would survive,” said Mr Eales.
“This type of behaviour, unfortunately, has become quite common, with people thinking just because they live outside they can survive.
“That’s simply unacceptable.”
In his letter to the court, Mr Amos admitted leaving the cats, said he had suffered from depression and anxiety, had been out of work and had tried to kill himself.
The court heard he had previously left three cats at a property after a house swap but collected them when the woman he had swapped houses with threatened to call the RSPCA.
It is understood both cats were rehomed.
Sentencing:
Winston Amos – ordered to pay a total of £560 in fines and costs.
Angela Amos – £400 in fines and costs.
Both were banned from keeping animals for five years (his ban expired September 2022, hers January 2023).
Eastern Daily Press 06/09/2017
Wisbech Standard 10/01/2018
Update November 2021
New address:
Hawthorne Avenue
WISBECH
PE13 3LB
Absolutely Heart Breaking, I personally keep A Cat Rescue Myself. If they had contacted A Rescue, The Cats Protection League, Cat Action Trust or RSPCA. I am sure someone could have took them in. It is simply just not acceptable to just move away, and leave your pets behind or just chuck them out, to fend for themselves. They also risk being Killed On The Road. Especially a Pregnant Animal.
Shame On Them. At Least Their Faces Are Out There, so everyone knows who they are.
Thank You to the Neighbour for Feeding them, until they were eventually picked up.
I know Winston very well. He is well known for being a compulsive liar. He has never attempted to take his own life and has claimed that his long suffering grandmother in walsingham had died on atleast 3 different occasions.
I also caught him cheating on his wife with a cross dressing male , whilst leaving her believing he was playing in a pool tournament. He is a coward and a liar and should be avoided at all costs.