Blackpool man who killed cat with concrete slab jailed

RSPCA inspectors found "a plethora" of traumatic injuries to the cat's head

A man who killed his friend's cat by dropping a concrete slab on its head has been jailed.

Carl Dyson, 40, wrapped the pet in a blanket before he released the heavy concrete weight in October.

The court heard he dropped the paving stone on the cat called Paddy twice to "make doubly sure".

Dyson, of Belmont Avenue, Blackpool, was sentenced to a 12-week jail term and an indefinite ban from keeping animals.

A neighbour witnessed the incident in the back yard of a property in Salthouse Avenue, Blackpool, and alerted the RSPCA.

RSPCA inspectors found "a plethora" of traumatic injuries to the cat's head, Blackpool Magistrates' Court heard.

An examination by a vet found it had been suffering from a cancerous tumour in the mouth and was severely underweight.

'Very foolish'

Prosecutor Paul Ridehalgh said: "In the vet's opinion, the dropping of concrete slabs is not an acceptable method of euthanasia and any responsible person would have taken the cat to the vets."

When interviewed by the RSPCA, Dyson claimed he thought the cat had been injured when he saw it in a "very poor state" and "panicked" thinking it had been in a road accident.

Gary McAnulty, defending, told the court Dyson did something "very foolish" in deciding "to put it out of its misery".

He said Dyson thought the cat died immediately on the first impact.

However, chairman of the bench Ed Beaman said: "The cat was attempting to escape from a blanket and was not so ill as to be accepting of his fate.

"We believe it was still alive prior to the second impact and this was distressing to the cat and the witnesses."

Dyson was ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs. His sentence appeal will be heard at Preston Crown Court at a date to be confirmed.