A WOMAN has appeared in court after her cat was found living in squalid conditions.
Yvette Darrington, 50, admitted failing to provide a suitable living environment for her nine-year-old cat – and it has now been taken off her.
Kirklees magistrates heard that she had been struggling to cope after falling into financial difficulty.
The Huddersfield bench was told that her situation was so dire that repossession proceedings on her home were started.
On September 4 an employee of London House Services attended at Bradford Road in Batley, together with a locksmith.
Andrew Davidson, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said: “They found the property to be in a filthy and uninhabitable condition.
“While they were inside they noticed a cat and called the RSPCA.”
Magistrates were told that RSPCA inspector Rachel Oprysk went to the house on September 7.
Mr Davidson said: “She described a foul and overpowering smell of excrement.
“It was difficult for her to push the door open due to the rubbish piled up.
“There was post and faecal matter on the floor and there was nowhere clear to stand.
“The rubbish was crawling in flies and the smell was horrendous.”
Magistrates were told that there was no sign of the cat, but inspector Oprysk left food on one of the steps.
The inspector later used a trap to retrieve the cat, named Smeagol.
Mr Davidson said that despite the state of the house the cat was in a “remarkably good” condition.
In interview, Darrington, who described herself as homeless, said she had been unable to sell the house because of its state.
She accepted that it wasn’t a suitable environment to keep a cat in.
Marnat Ali, mitigating, said: “Her life was work and her cat.
“She’s disappointed at the impact her actions have had on Smeagol.”
Magistrates made an order depriving Darrington of her cat.
They did not order costs because of her financial situation.
