Robert Lay threw the animal in a washing machine and put it on a high cycle (Picture: Ben Lack Photography Ltd)
A twisted man caused the death of a cat by shoving it in a washing machine and switching it on after it scratched him.
Robert Lay has been banned from keeping animal’s for life and narrowly avoided jail for the vile incident which left the cat with horrific and fatal injuries.
The 32-year-old was angry when the cat called Buddy, which did not belong to him, scratched him.
He decided to put it in the washing machine and switched it to cycle.
The 32-year-old was handed a suspended sentence (Picture: Ben Lack Photography Ltd)
The RSPCA were tipped off when they found out he posted about it on a Facebook chat group.
He then took the cat’s body and put it behind a bush in Queensbury Cemetery in Bradford, Yorks.
Lay, of Heywood, Rochdale, appeared at Bradford Magistrates’ Court on Thursday February 29 to be sentenced after earlier pleading guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.
As well as being banned from keeping animals for life, Lay was also given a 14-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
After the cat’s body was discovered, he was taken to a vet who was able to find the owner through the cat’s microchip.
The court heard that a post mortem examination showed Buddy had a number of injuries, including fractures, bruising and skin lacerations consistent with being placed in a washing machine on a high heat.
An expert vet’s witness statement, presented to the court, said: ‘The lacerations to the face occurred when the cat’s face hit the drum of the washing machine and muscle bruising and fractured right rib from being struck by the fins of the drum.
The poor creature died an agonising death (Picture: Ben Lack Photography Ltd)
‘It is likely that the washing program was of high heat resulting in the ear pinnae becoming heat crinkled. The severely fractured claws were as a result of the cat attempting to grip onto the drum with its claws as it was tossed around.
‘Vital reaction is present within many of the skin lesions suggesting the cat was alive for a period of time within the washing machine before dying, likely via shock or asphyxiation.
‘The cat would have experienced suffering via mechanisms of fear, distress and pain for a period of at least several minutes, possibly longer.’
RSPCA Inspector Natalie Taylor, who investigated the case, said: ‘This was a deeply distressing case involving intentional harm and cruelty to a defenceless cat. It is heartbreaking to think about the pain and suffering Buddy endured. We are grateful to the people who worked with us on getting this case to court.’
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