Man admits 'horrific' attack on cat

A man killed a cat when he picked it up by a hind leg and swung it head-first into a wall at least four times, a court has heard.

Jason Metcalfe, 29, flew into a drunken rage when female tabby Bonnie approached him in the street in Earby, Lancashire.

His attack was witnessed by a nine-year-old who was playing nearby.

Pennine Magistrates' Court was told the recovering alcoholic had relapsed on the day of the incident near George Street after he drank six cans of Carlsberg Special Brew.

Metcalfe, of Kenilworth Drive, could not remember anything of the incident on September 28 last year when he was interviewed by the RSPCA the following day.

Chris Wyatt, prosecuting, said the cat suffered various injuries to its head and face and died from the severe head injuries.

He said: "The girl saw a male holding something grey in his hand and then saw him banging it against a wall at least four times.

"She described the man doing this and she said she knew the man."

Mr Wyatt said a police constable called at his then address in Goodall Close, Earby, and found Metcalfe drunk, slurring his words and staggering. He had blood stains on his clothing.

"Whether he was drunk or not he was clearly in a rage and took his frustrations out on the cat. It is not a humane way to deal with an animal," said the prosecutor

Metcalfe pleaded guilty to failing to meet the needs of the cat by not protecting her from the pain she suffered before death.

Mr Wyatt said the offence carried a maximum penalty of six months in jail and told the court he considered it at the "top end of the scale" for such cruelty cases.

He said: "It involves a deliberate act of cruelty which resulted in a cat dying in quite horrific circumstances."

It emerged that Metcalfe had committed the assault just weeks after he received a suspended jail term for a separate offence.

Magistrates sent the matter for sentencing to Burnley Crown Court because of the breach of the suspended conditions.

The case was adjourned until April 1 and Metcalfe was released on bail.