An Aberdeen woman who left a cat to starve has been banned from keeping animals.
Emma Law, 38, appeared in the dock at Aberdeen Sheriff Court where she admitted causing her pet – called Minion – unnecessary suffering by leaving it with no food or water for more than a week.
The court heard when SSPCA officers found the cat it was almost at death’s door and unable to walk or support itself.
It was added that Minion’s body was so emaciated, it was given the lowest possible body mass score on the scale.
Minion – who survived after being treated by vets – is now doing well and in the care of a loving family.
Cat hadn’t been given nutrition
Fiscal depute Claire Stewart told the court that the SSPCA were alerted to the plight of Minion after someone called their helpline and reported an abandoned cat.
Officers went to Law’s property on Great Northern Road, Aberdeen, where they found the cat, which had not been properly fed or given water for at least a week.
A litter tray was found to be full and overflowing with dried faeces.
The officers also noted that the property appeared to have been abandoned.
Upon examining the cat, they found it was unable to walk or balance and had no energy left to support itself.
They gave Minion a body score of one out of nine – the lowest possible – due to the cat being “extremely dehydrated” and malnourished to the point where it had “suffered unnecessarily”.
In the dock, Law admitted one count of causing unnecessary suffering to her cat by failing to provide adequate hydration and nutrition, which caused it to become dehydrated and emaciated between December 25 2023 and January 25 last year.
‘No justification’
Defence solicitor Alannah Comerford told the court that her client was aware that this was “clearly a very serious matter” and had immediately turned ownership of the cat over to the SSPCA upon it being discovered in the flat.
The solicitor added that following the cat being taken into the care of vets and put on fluids “within three weeks its body mass had reached five out of nine”.
“She fully accepts responsibility for what happened to the cat,” Ms Comerford continued.
“Mrs Law was struggling with her mental health at the time, but she knows this is no justification.”
As an alternative to a prison sentence, Sheriff Peter Grant-Hutchison made Law, of Cummings Park Crescent, Aberdeen, subject to a community payback order with supervision for two years and ordered her to carry out 75 hours of unpaid work.
The sheriff also put an order in place banning Law from keeping animals for five years.
A Scottish SPCA inspector said: “Emma Law failed to provide food and water resulting in her cat, Minion, to suffer from extreme dehydration and starvation causing severe bodily stress that required immediate veterinary treatment.
“Minion was signed over to us where she received the appropriate care and treatment and was eventually adopted by another family.”
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