Owner jailed after attack left kitten with shocking injuries

A man attacked a kitten and left it bleeding from the mouth with missing teeth.

John Piarce O’reilly, from Foxhill in Bath, has been jailed for 18 weeks after he admitted an animal welfare offence following a prosecution by the RSPCA.

O’reilly attacked his kitten called Betty Boo in July, leaving her with blood in her mouth and nose and missing teeth. When she arrived at an emergency veterinary practice, she was also hypothermic.

The animal welfare charity was called after a member of the public presented a kitten named Betty Boo at Rosemary Lodge Veterinary Hospital at 11.30pm on July 16.

Several witnesses saw O’reilly attacking his kitten in an outdoor area near his flat after being alerted to the situation by its distressed cries. Two young women managed to rescue her before rushing her to the emergency vet.

Betty Boo was soaking wet, hypothermic, with a temperature of 35.8C, and her respiratory rate was abnormally increased when she arrived at the vets bleeding from her mouth. She had a laceration to her right nostril, blood in her mouth, nasal discharge, and marked upper respiratory congestion consistent with bleeding and fluid accumulation in her nasal passages. Some of her teeth had also fallen out.

Vets also found that she had fluid in the airways, which was supportive of attempted drowning, and radiographs revealed she had air within the thorax, a common aftereffect of chest trauma.

It was also found that Betty Boo had bruising around her neck.

RSPCA inspector Miranda Albinson, who investigated for the animal welfare charity, said: “It’s upsetting that Betty Boo was subjected to this. She was left severely injured and a video taken seven hours after she arrived at the vets shows how much distress and discomfort she was suffering.

“Thankfully, she has now fully recovered and has found a loving new home where she is getting the love and care she needs.”

Alongside the 18-week custodial sentence, O’reilly was also disqualified from owning animals for life and ordered to pay £300 costs.