A woman who moved away and left her cats alone to die in an empty house has been banned from keeping animals for ten years.

Jodie Louise Davey, from Bridgwater, pleaded guilty to an animal welfare offence following an investigation and prosecution by the RSPCA.

A call was made to the RSPCA national control centre by police after they received a report from a member of the public on January 29, 2024.

Concerns were raised that the resident had not been seen for a number of weeks and that there were a lot of flies seen from the address.

Upon arrival, RSPCA animal rescue officer Dean Wilkins was shown into the address by police and housing officers.

He said: “There were multiple piles of faeces, especially by the rear door, and items scattered all over the floor. I then saw one deceased tortoiseshell cat behind the sofa in the living room area.

“I continued up the stairs where at the base of a wooden cabinet at the top of the stairs was a deceased black cat.”

Further investigations by the animal charity found that Davey had moved out and was now living at another property in the town, leaving the cats behind to starve to death.

It was found that Davey failed to meet one or more of the following needs:

When she appeared for sentencing at Taunton Magistrates Court on Friday, February 14, Davey was sentenced to 12 weeks custody, suspended for 18 months, and 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days, alongside the ten year ban from keeping animals.

She can not appeal the animal ban for seven years.