Woman sentenced as shocking images show full squalor of house where dead cats found

A woman from Liverpool has been fined and given a community order after her two cats were found dead inside a squalid house strewn with rubbish and faeces.

The bodies of black cats Ernie and Mags were discovered by RSPCA officer Louise Showering in the filthy property in Barmouth Way, Liverpool. She subsequently suffered 185 flea bites all over the body.

Owner Mandy Swash, 53, of Rosedale Avenue, was sentenced at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court last week, when she was also placed under curfew and ordered to undergo 12 sessions of mental health treatment. She has to pay £1,250 in costs.

The RSPCA were called the property in September 2022 following reports that there were dead and live animals living in wretched conditions inside the house. Attending officer Showering said she had to climb over litter all throughout the house and even the windows were partially obscured by piles of bags.

Showering said: “There was faeces and empty food packets, plastic and empty soiled bowls and litter trays. The kitchen itself was also filthy, with piles of faeces stacked up next to the sink and on the work surfaces."

The RSPCA officer found the bodies of the dead cats in the lounge and rear bedroom. Mags, who was found in a bag, is thought to have suffered following a road traffic collision due to evidence of trauma on her head.

Ernie was very underweight - although it is not known whether this was from not having access to food, although there was little food in his stomach, or an unknown disease which was detected.

Showering said: “This was an incredibly sad case which resulted in the neglect and suffering of multiple cats. They were heavily infested with fleas and there was a build-up of faeces and detritus which would create a breeding ground for disease.”