A husband and wife have been convicted of animal cruelty, after pleading guilty to four offences contrary to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (NSW) (POCTAA). The charges followed the couple leaving their 12-year-old cat locked in a bathroom with no source of food or water for four weeks.
Appearing in Wollongong Local Court on 15 August 2025, the two defendants, were convicted, a six-month Community Corrections Order imposed and fined $9000 each. They were both disqualified from purchasing or keeping animals for two years. Animal care costs were awarded to RSPCA NSW totalling $2,388.
In facts tendered on sentence, the Court heard that in May 2025, an RSPCA NSW Inspector attended a property following a cruelty complaint about a cat being abandoned inside a house.
After two consecutive days trying to raise someone at the address and hearing a cat meowing from inside, a search warrant was applied for and granted at the NSW Local Court. The warrant was executed by RSPCA NSW Inspectors to gain access to the property where they found a cat named ‘Princess’ confined in a bathroom with unopened packets of wet cat food placed outside the door. There was no food or water inside the bathroom, and an overflowing litter tray was covered by an empty cat food bag.
The bathroom where Princess, a 12-year-old cat was left for four weeks.
The cat was in emaciated body condition, with its hip bones protruding and clearly visible. As a result, it was seized and taken to a local veterinarian for urgent treatment before being transferred to the RSPCA NSW Sydney Veterinary Hospital in Yagoona.
On intake, the cat weighed just 1.65 kilograms. During the veterinary examination, it was noted that:
- The cat was very underweight and given a body score of 5/5 based on the TUFTS Animal Care and Condition scales where 5 is emaciated and 1 is ideal.
- The cat was suffering from grade 3/4 dental disease.
Princess weighed just 1.65 kilograms upon her arrival at RSPCA NSW.
In an interview with the Inspector, the defendants expressed regret and said that they couldn’t return to the property because they had a sick child.
That explanation was rejected by the Magistrate, who referred in their remarks on sentence that their new property was just a 10-minute drive away and that one of them could have attended to the cat.
“There’s no excuse. No sentence will make up for what happened to the cat,” the Magistrate said.
“The legislation is in place to ensure the welfare of animals. This is a companion animal that cannot look after itself. A companion animal that relies on its owner to look after it, provide it with food and water and to be taken to the vet when they need to. Not be locked in a bathroom for weeks.
“The cat was 12 years old. It had been your companion animal for 12 years but for the four weeks it was locked in the bathroom you didn’t give it a single thought.”
Princess was in RSPCA NSW’s care for 65 days, and despite dedicated support from our shelter and behaviour staff to improve her welfare, it was determined that she was in a condition which was cruel to be kept alive and she was humanely euthanised.
Unfortunately, Princess had developed severe and inescapable fear and anxiety, in conjunction with conflict around the provision of food by human carers, which some cats develop when they have not had their intrinsic needs met. Although staff tried to provide consistency, choice and regularly available resources to meet her needs, Princess was not able to be rehabilitated and was humanely euthanised.
“This is a matter I will carry with me forever,” said the officer in charge, Inspector Tyson.
“Often when speaking about my job I hear phrases like, ‘I don’t know how you do it’ or ‘How do people do that to their animals’. This is one of those jobs where I share those thoughts, and I just don’t have an answer for why this cat had to go through so much suffering. It was so easily avoidable.
“Hearing the desperate cries of a cat locked in a bathroom with no access to food and water and seeing it for the first time in such poor condition when I opened the bathroom door was both heartbreaking and unacceptable.”
RSPCA NSW would like to remind the community that if you have any concerns about an animal’s welfare, please call our cruelty hotline on 1300 278 3589, where reports continue to be logged and acted upon.
GRAPHIC IMAGES WARNING. Images are available for download here.
