Isle of Wight man given suspended prison sentence over 'prolonged neglect' of kittens

An Isle of Wight man has been banned from keeping animals and given a suspended prison sentence after he admitted neglecting six kittens.

Neil Andrew Cain of The Broadway, Totland Bay, Isle of Wight, was prosecuted after concerns were raised about the condition of the animals in his care.

An investigation by the RSPCA found the cats to have untreated ailments including eye disease, rectal prolapse, flea and worm burdens whilst living in an unhygienic and hazardous environment without fresh water.

They were also left unattended for a four day period without supervision or their welfare needs being met, the RSPCA said.

Following the neglect, two kittens had to have eyes removed and one had to be put to sleep by a vet because of the severity of ill health.

The RSPCA described the case as involving prolonged neglect in a commercial context, and there was evidence of Cain selling kittens.

RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer Kane Goodyear, who helped to investigate for the animal welfare charity, said: “The majority of the kittens looked to have eye issues, they were squinting and their eyelids appeared very swollen with a lot of discharge, also, one of the black kittens has what looked to be a prolapse, it looked like part of the kittens bowel was protruding from its backend, it looked incredibly painful. I was extremely concerned for their welfare.”

Cain was sentenced to 12 weeks custody, suspended for 12 months, and banned from keeping animals for five years.

He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work and must pay a £154 victim surcharge when he was sentenced at Newport Magistrates Court on July 30.

The surviving cats have recovered in the care of the RSPCA and were signed over in court to enable them to be found new homes by the charity.

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