A woman from Dover has been banned from keeping animals for five years after her cat was found with its ear half-eaten away by cancer.

Laura Alcindor, 68, of Riverdale, pleaded guilty to failing to provide veterinary care for her female white, ginger and tortoiseshell cat Sid at Canterbury Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

She was also ordered to pay £1,000 in costs and undertake 80 hours unpaid work.

The RSPCA was called in November last year following concern about 14-year-old Sid who had been seen with a severely infected ear.

Caroline Doe, RSPCA inspector said: “As soon as I saw this poor cat I knew something was very wrong – she was extremely thin and looked so ill.

“Half of her ear had been eaten away by cancer and it was bloody, raw and infected. You could actually smell the infection, it was like rotten flesh and it was very obvious she was suffering a great deal.”

The animal was taken straight to a vet who said the kindest thing to do would be to put her to sleep to end her suffering.

It was also confirmed that the cat had been in this condition for a month or longer, was underweight, suffering from fleas, dehydration, skin irritation and gingivitis.

Inspector Doe added: “Sid should have been taken for treatment a long time before, it was obvious how unwell she was.

“I just can’t quite understand how anyone could just sit there and watch such suffering and not want to do something to stop it.

“A simple trip to the vet at an earlier stage could have prevented so much pain.”

To help the RSPCA investigate cases like this text HELP to 78866 to give £3. Texts costs £3 plus one standard network rate message.

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