A Nottinghamshire couple who tried to treat a kitten’s broken leg with bathing salts have been disqualified from keeping animals.
Susannah Self and Magno Sousa, both 26, of Grange Road in Retford, Nottinghamshire, appeared at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court today (Tuesday November 7) to be sentenced.
They were found guilty of three animal welfare offences following a trial in October.
Self and Sousa have each been disqualified for keeping animals for five years, given a 12 month community order, a six-week curfew and have been ordered to pay costs of £450 each and an £85 victim surcharge.
The cat with the broken leg was put down because vets didn’t think he would survive an operation due to having cat flu.
The couple also used human medicines on seven cats to treat cat flu with one kitten losing an eye after having human eye-drops.
RSPCA Inspector Daniel Bradshaw said: “The reason why Self and Sousa treated the cats themselves was because they didn’t have the money to pay for vet bills, but as a result of the treatment the animals sadly continued to suffer.
“A visit to a vet would have reduced this suffering significantly.
“Sadly we see it all too often, animals suffering because their owner cannot afford vet bills.
“However, many vets offer payment plans and their are plenty of animal charities, ourselves included, who will offer free advice if contacted.
“We would never advise to follow information from the internet without speaking to a veterinary professional first.”
The surviving kittens have since been rehomed by the RSPCA’s Radcliffe branch.
The court heard the RSPCA received an anonymous phone call in June this year from someone who was concerned about the welfare of seven cats at the property.
This led to Inspector Bradshaw to attend the house, where he found six kittens and their mother, Bandit, suffering from cat flu.
One of the kittens also had a broken leg which Self and Sousa had been treating by bathing him in epsom salts after searching on the internet for advice on ‘how to heal a kitten’s leg’.
Self and Sousa had been treating the cats with flu with eye drops and cream commonly used for humans suffering from conjunctivitis.
