A BIRKBY man has been banned from keeping animals for two years after admitted causing suffering to his cat.

Geoffrey Brown, of Norwood Road, was also fined £50 and ordered to pay £200 in costs – half of what the RSPCA spent bringing the prosecution.

Brown, 54, pleaded guilty at Huddersfield Magistrates’ Court yesterday to causing unnecessary suffering to his cat, Vicky, by failing to get vet treatment for a serious skin condition.

The cat has been confiscated from Brown and it is now in RSPCA care.

The court heard that RSPCA Inspector Nicky Foster had visited Brown’s home on October 31 2006. She saw the cat through the window and noticed it had patches of hair missing.

She returned on November 3 and again on November 14. On November 20, she went back to the house and finally met Brown and examined the cat. She found it had severe hair loss on its back legs and tail. Brown was told it needed vet treatment within a week.

Insp Foster called Donaldson and Partners vets at Ainley Top and discovered the cat had not been to the vets since it was spayed in 2000. She returned to his home on November 28, accompanied by a police officer, because Brown had been aggressive in his manner on the last visit.

The cat was seen through a window and appeared to be in the same state.

On November 30, Insp Foster visited Brown and asked why he had cancelled a vet’s appointment. He said it was because he could not get the cat into a box. He told the court that on that occasion, he rang the vets for advice.

Insp Foster cautioned Brown and went back on December 7 to see him. She saw the cat through a window, but Brown said he could not find her.

Insp Foster returned the next day with two police officers and another RSPCA inspector and seized the cat.

It was examined by a vet, who said it was suffering from dermatitis due to sun exposure and severe dermatitis caused by a serious flea allergy.

The cat has now recovered.

Representing himself, Brown told the court he had not been physically aggressive to Insp Foster but had used “one or two words which I rather wish I hadn’t used”.

He said he wanted to keep animals in the future. He said: “I have learnt something useful and I would not make the same mistake again.”