Pet ban for owner who tried to heal cat’s wounds with honey

A CAT owner has been banned from keeping pets for a year after attempting to heal its wounds with honey.

Denise Smith, 58, applied manuka honey to her cat Blacky’s leg, believing it had healing properties. But the pet, which had cancer, had to have its leg amputated and, despite veterinary treatment, later died.

Some online forums advocate the use of treating cats with manuka honey and at least one branch of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals sells it for use on felines.

But Smith, of Northampton, was found guilty of causing unnecessary suffering at Wellingborough magistrates’ court. She was disqualified from keeping animals for 12 months and ordered to pay £615 in fines.

The court heard that after the RSPCA was contacted by a member of the public, inspector Michelle Hare found the cat with a heavily bandaged leg. “When we took the bandages off I could see Blacky had a large and cancerous wound on her leg which was so deep it had gone down to her tendons,”

‘Manuka honey isn’t something that should be used on a wound like Blacky’s’

she said. “It turned out Smith had been treating the wound with manuka honey, after reading that it had antimicrobial properties, but it certainly isn’t something that should have been used on a wound like Blacky had.”

Amputation was recommended and the cat went to a new home. However, the cancer returned and it had to be put down.

An RSPCA spokesman said: “We would always urge people to seek veterinary advice for any issues relating to their pets’ health. Honey is used by some people on minor wounds but should only be used as a complementary treatment which should not replace veterinary care.”

Native New Zealand manuka honey, made from nectar collected by bees from the wild manuka tree, is sold by the RSPCA’S Halifax and Huddersfield branch on its website. It says: “Manuka G may be used to add honey to the wound and provide a moist environment conducive to healing. [It is] useful for minor abrasions and lacerations, pressure sores and cavity wounds.”

Last year, Southampton University researchers found that cleansing medical equipment with solutions derived from the honey reduced the ability of potentially deadly bacteria to accumulate on surfaces.