A church cleaner who killed his partner’s cat and left a pool of blood on her patio has been spared jail.
Thomas Hogarth, 63, descended into a rage when nine-year-old tortoiseshell Sophie, belonging to partner Aileen Holmes, stained the carpet while he was watching television.
Hogarth, from Jarrow in South Tyneside, lashed out at the feline and stamped on its head before throwing its lifeless body into a bin.
Thomas Hogarth (left, outside court), 63, descended into a rage when nine-year-old tortoiseshell Sophie, belonging to partner Aileen Holmes (right), stained the carpet
When the police arrived they found a large pool of blood on the patio as well as spatters on the fence.
Judith Curry, prosecuting for the RSPCA, told how when Ms Holmes, who was in bed, asked Hogarth about the racket he responded: ‘I’ve killed the f******cat.
‘She won’t s*** on the floor again.’
The couple, who met online but have now split up, were due to go on holiday to France the next day.
The court heard when Ms Holmes asked if he was joking, he responded: ‘No I’m not and you’re f****** next.’
Hogarth pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to unnecessary suffering to a protected animal, failure to ensure the welfare of an animal he was responsible for, and destroying or damaging property.
He was handed a 18-week suspended sentence and has been banned from keeping animals for the rest of his life.
Hogwarth has also been ordered to pay Ms Holmes, £200, attend 30 hours of rehabilitation and carry 300 hours of unpaid work for the community.
Hogwart stamped on Sophie’s (pictured) body before dumping her lifeless body in a bin, South Tynside Magistrates’ Court heard
Sophie’s cause of death is thought to have been a concussive brain injury.
Jason Smith, defending, said: ‘I am not going to sugarcoat this in any form.
‘He is devastated in his actions and his reaction.
‘He can’t claim to be an animal lover. He came from a very clean and ordered lifestyle. His own property was spotless and very clean.
‘I think it was probably getting on Mr Hogarth’s nerves as his friends were commenting on his smell.
‘He can’t explain why he did what he did. He accepts what he did was wrong and he can’t believe it.’
After stamping on Sophie, Hogarth (pictured) told Ms Holmes: ‘I’ve killed the f****** cat’
Ms Holmes used to house up to 100 cats at a time, but had seven at the time of the attack.
Commenting on Hogarth’s sentence, she said: ‘I wanted him jailed.
‘This week I haven’t slept at all, for fear of him knocking on the door.
‘I thought he was joking.
‘But when I went downstairs there was blood everywhere. I freaked out. I couldn’t speak. I was terrified. I left the house as quickly as I could and went to my daughter’s.
‘I couldn’t bring myself to go back, but my daughter did and saw poor Sophie’s mangled corpse in the bin. When she told me I was devastated.
‘He’s an evil monster. Sophie didn’t stand a chance. He was 19 stone and she was just a small cat.
‘I’m glad I’m getting a bit of closure on this.
‘What he did was disgusting and and it’s really been hanging over me. I’ve hardly slept at all since it happened. It was just horrific.
‘On Facebook he posted something about thinking he’d go to jail so I imagine he’s happy with the result.
‘I was frightened of cats as a child but I found a stray when I was 30 and it just snowballed from there.
‘I used to have a cattery and had more than a hundred in the house at one time.
‘The Lord may forgive Tom Hogarth but I will not.’