A NORTHFIELD woman has been banned for keeping animals for life after being found guilty of pet neglect.
Susan Aston, of Fourlands Road, admitted leaving cats and rabbits unattended at her home, pleading guilty to two offences at Birmingham Magistrates Court.
The RSPCA was contacted after concerns were raised about the animals who had been left for days on end without sufficient food and water.
RSPCA inspector Steven Morrall, who investigated for the animal welfare charity, attended the address on May 24 last year.
He found tape seals, which had been placed on the front door to the property to try to establish if anyone had been attending the address, were still intact.
This enabled him to ask for help from the police who used a warrant to gain entry to help the animals who had been left alone.
Insp Morrall discovered a young black kitten and a white and tabby coloured cat inside, alongside empty food and drink containers.
He said: “There was a mattress and blanket on the floor, both of which were stained and soiled with what appeared to be, and smelt of, urine and feaces.
“There was also a cat litter tray which was overflowing.
“In the room adjacent to the living room with the door shut was a lop eared rabbit contained in a wire cage.
“The water bottle on the cage was completely dry.
“Inside the cage there was a brown stoneware food bowl that was empty except for some rabbit droppings.
“There was no sign of bedding or food of any description in the cage, not even remnants.
“The floor of the cage was wet sawdust. It was compacted and heavily soiled with rabbit droppings and urine.”
All three animals were taken into possession by police and transferred into RSPCA care.
Insp Morrall then resealed the property with tape, discovering Aston had only returned to the address several days later on May 29.
Alongside the disqualification, which cannot be appealed for 15 years, she was also sentenced to an 18-month community order whereby she must complete 100 hours unpaid work and 40 days of rehabilitation activity.
The animals that were rescued have since been found new homes by the charity.
