A woman has faced court after three cats were found at her home with untreated cat flu.
Annika Easdown-Dickson, 22, of Mooroopna, pleaded guilty in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court to two counts of animal cruelty, and threatening an inspector.
Prosecutor Graham Humbridge told the court the RSPCA had received reports of an unwell cat that had been taken to a vet by a person who found it on October 17 last year.
When the RSPCA investigated, they found the eight-month-old cat named Fraggly had “significant influenza” but had been forcibly removed from the vet by Easdown-Dickson and another woman she lived with before he could be treated.
The court also heard the RSPCA in Queensland had given Easdown-Dickson a “notice to comply” to get the same cat treated for an ailment to his eyes, but she had left the state before getting the cat treated.
The court heard that on October 26, police seized three cats — including Fraggly — from Easdown-Dickson’s Mooroopna house, with all having cat flu and fleas.
Easdown-Dickson owned the cats and said the cats were “suffering hay fever”, and she had not sought veterinary treatment for them, Mr Humbridge said.
Fraggly had to have surgery to repair his eyes, as he had severely limited vision.
Mr Humbridge said Easdown-Dickson phoned the RSPCA four days later and threatened officers.
She also sent several texts threatening to harm the RSPCA informant, their family, friends and workplace.
Representing Easdown-Dickson in court, defence solicitor Megan McKenna said her client had a “turbulent upbringing”, and was living with a co-accused 20-year-old woman and another person and there was “a lot of chaos” in her life at the time.
She said Easdown-Dickson no longer lived at that house and did not have contact with the co-accused any more.
Ms McKenna said Easdown-Dickson had always had cats as a child and was ashamed she was in the position she was at court.
“She doesn’t think of herself as a cruel person, or want to cause undue harm to animals,” Ms McKenna said.
Magistrate Megan Casey fined Easdown-Dickson $600, but did not record a conviction.
She also ordered that she was not allowed to own cats for 12 months.
“The real issue is, when we have pets, they rely on us utterly for their care,” Ms Casey said.
“You’d been put on notice in Queensland (to get treatment) and you didn’t get it.
“Then when he (Fraggly) was going to get treatment, you and the co-accused removed him.”