Malcom Troke, of Devon Drive in Brimington, Chesterfield, struck his seven-month-old tabby cat, named Baby, with such force that she flew off of a kitchen worktop and into a radiator, breaking her left hind leg. Troke didn’t seek veterinary advice for two to three weeks after the incident, leaving Baby to suffer unnecessarily.
Troke was banned from owning animals for 10 years and handed a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, at Derby Magistrates Court.
He was also given a 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and a six-month drug referral requirement, after pleading guilty to an animal welfare offence. He must also pay court costs of £400, plus a victim surcharge of £154.
Thankfully, Baby made a full recovery and was later rehomed from the RSPCA Chesterfield and North Derbyshire branch.
Troke told a vet who examined Baby: “I walked into the kitchen and she was eating my f**king food. I told her to get down and she didn’t so I hit her and I’m heavy-handed so she fell and hit the radiator on the way down, yeah I smacked her hard. She didn’t move for two to three days so I took food to her.”
Following her examination, the vet contacted the RSPCA as she was concerned that “left in his [Troke’s] care she [Baby] is highly likely to suffer further injury and/or death” – and Inspector Kim Greaves visited Troke’s address to investigate.
Troke signed Baby into the RSPCA’s care on 28 July last year, and it was later discovered that she needed surgery on her leg for a fractured femur. The vet who performed the surgery, at a clinic in Sheffield, said in a statement to the court that “these injuries are usually very painful, debilitating and difficult to repair”. Thankfully, she made a full recovery and was later rehomed from the RSPCA Chesterfield and North Derbyshire branch.
In mitigation, the court heard that Troke hit Baby with “too much force, but it was not a malicious strike” – and he did eventually take her to the vet. They also cited mental health problems and drug issues.
The magistrates’ chairman told Troke ahead of sentencing: “Your actions and violence towards this cat had the result of breaking the head of its femur, which is quite a significant injury. You knew the cat was in pain, it was screaming in pain.
