A man who kept two cats in small cat carriers for days at a time was convicted of animal cruelty in Orange Local Court on Monday.
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Andrew Bingham, 21, of Amaroo Crescent, was warned twice by an RSPCA inspector not to keep the animals confined in the containers before the inspector seized the animals.
The two young adult female cats were taken to the Orange RSPCA shelter where a vet found a moderately dehydrated tabby and slightly dehydrated black cat.
It was estimated they were without water for at least 12 to 24 hours. The black cat also had a roundworm infection and its collar was too tight.
According to information tended to the court, the inspector visited the house on February 28 after receiving several complaints regarding the cats continuously being kept in the carriers.
When Bingham opened the door the inspector saw a tabby in a birdcage and a black cat in a small cat carrier and there was a strong smell of urine and faeces.
Bingham told the inspector the cats were locked up while he cleaned and she told him to let them out and that she would return.
The cats were in a similar state when she returned on March 24 and she was again told the cats were in the containers while the house was cleaned.
The inspector returned with a warrant on June 2 and again found the cats in two cat carriers one 50 centimetres long and 30 centimetres wide and high and the other being 45 centimetres long, 25 centimetres wide and 30 centimetres high. She seized the cats and took them to the RPSCA.
Solicitor Charlotte Pascall said Bingham is affected by mental health issues and he confined the cats in cages following previous bad experiences with the cats escaping from the house and getting injured when people visited.
Bingham was fined $4000 for committing an act of cruelty to an animal, $2500 for failing to provide sufficient drink to the tabby and $2500 for failing to provide veterinary care to the back cat.
He was ordered to pay $1988.74 compensation for the care of the animals and he is prohibited from purchasing, owning or possessing any companion animals for the next five years, except for two dogs that remain at his house.
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