A woman who kept 50 cats in a filthy, faeces-ridden house has lost an appeal against her conviction and sentence.
The SPCA today welcomed the Court of Appeal's decision, which upheld a 10-year ban on Auckland woman Tatyana Kondratyeva owning cats.
Kondratyeva formerly lived with Donald Cruickshank (81) who kept 38 dead cats in a freezer so their "spirits" would be with him forever.
In late 2010, police alerted the SPCA after noticing sickly felines living in filthy conditions at Cruickshank's home in the Auckland suburb of Glenfield.
Inspectors encountered a swarm of flies and an "indescribable" stench of urine, faeces and food from 19 cats. They found more cats in a downstairs unit that was strewn with excrement and urine.
Kondratyeva, who lived in the downstairs area, was found guilty six months ago of failing to meet the physical, health and behavioural needs of 50 cats and failing to ensure 22 sick cats got treatment for unnecessary pain or distress.
Apart from being banned from owning cats for 10 years, she was sentenced to 125 hours' community work and 12 months' supervision.
The Court of Appeal said Kondratyeva had previously been involved in rescuing and caring for wild and unwanted cats.
Kondratyeva moved to Cruickshank's house in April 2010, taking several cats with her.
Animal welfare inspectors said the cats were housed in "disgusting" and "horrendous" conditions that were in the words of one inspector, "the worst he had encountered while at the SPCA".
Vets examined the cats and said 13 of the animals had no concerning health issues, a further 14 had issues that were not significant, and the remaining cats needed treatment. One cat had to be put down.
SPCA took custody of animals
The SPCA took custody of the remaining cats, paying most of the cost of caring for them.
Both Kondratyeva and Cruickshank faced charges under the Animal Welfare Act. They initially pleaded not guilty, but later changed their pleas.
Kondratyeva said Cruickshank had abused her and she had tried caring for the cats.
At Auckland District Court last year, Judge Andree Wiltens was not persuaded that Kondratyeva cared about the cats' welfare.
Kondratyeva's lawyer Peter Tomlinson told the Court of Appeal his client had been trespassed from the Glenfield Rd property in August 2010, and from that point no longer owned or was in charge of the cats, and did not have access to the cats to care for them.
Addressing the appeal against conviction, the Court of Appeal said it was not persuaded Judge Wiltens' findings were unreasonable.
"Ms Kondratyeva accepted that she had brought all 50 cats onto the property. There was no dispute that prior to the Trespass Notice she was the owner, and was in charge of the cats," the Court of Appeal said.
The focus of Kondratyeva's appeal against sentence was the 10-year banning order.
Whereas Cruickshank was banned from owning or being in charge of cats for 10 years, that order was subject to an exception for three cats he owned and was allowed to keep.
The Court of Appeal said Judge Wiltens made his own decision on the basis of submissions made to him, "his own assessment of Ms Kondratyeva" and the circumstances of her offending.
SPCA executive director Bob Kerridge said bans were one of the most effective ways of tackling serious animal abuse. He said fines often weren't paid and people were hardly ever jailed even for serious animal abuse.
Mr Kerridge said the latest decision meant the SPCA could now seek new homes for the cats.
"We're talking about a case that went on for almost two years. And we had to hold those cats for that period of time. That's not only costly, but it's not right for the cats either."
Mr Tomlinson did not immediately return a request for comment.