Blackburn man Sajad Hussain jailed after beating ex-girlfriend's cat so hard with mop handle that it died from its injuries

Sajad Hussain, 51, deliberately hit the six-month-old feline, known as Kia, while she was lying on a bed at his ex-girlfriend’s flat in Darwen, Lancashire.

His ex told a court she could hear the cat screaming out in pain and could see her cat bleeding on the bed, with blood coming from its head, legs and back.

The moggy suffered several skull fractures and died the next day after he prevented his ex from taking her to the vets, the RSPCA said.

Preston Crown court heard the attack left the cat 'gurgling blood and in a floppy condition' and the mop was found split in two in a utility room at the flat.

Hussain, of Blackburn, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to the cat under the Animal Welfare Act 2006.

He was jailed for five months, a sentence that will run consecutively to a 35-month sentence imposed for an unconnected drug offence.

He was also banned from keeping animals for life.

Hussain’s ex told the court the cat had been in bed with her on November 26, 2021 when the defendant dragged the feline by a lead out of the bedroom.

He returned saying he’d taken the cat for a walk, but when she jumped back on the bed he lost his temper.

She said in a statement to the court: “He said, ‘that’s it’ and picked her up. She hissed at him and that really annoyed him and he took her out of the bedroom.

"I went to the toilet and then I heard Kia screaming and he was shouting.

“He called her a name and the screaming and shouting went on for maybe 20 seconds.

"He came into the room and said ‘I have hit her with the mop and there is blood all over - I think I have killed her’.

"I ran into the spare room and Kia was on the bed and the bedding was covered in blood.

"There was blood in her ears and on her feet and legs. She was gurgling because her mouth was full of blood.

“I wrapped her in a blanket and I told him I wanted to take her to the vets, but he wouldn’t let me and said ‘no, I will get into trouble’.

"I couldn’t argue with him as he was like possessed and I was too scared.”

The woman called the RSPCA the next day and the animal charity’s inspectors Alison Fletcher and Susie Micallef searched the property.

The woman told Inspector Fletcher that Hussain cleaned the room and stripped the bed during the night.

However, there were some small blood marks on the side of a bed and on the wall.

The inspectors found the cat’s body wrapped in a brown blanket in another bedroom at the property, the court heard.

Inspector Fletcher said: “There was blood in both her ears and Kia also had blood to her paws and many of her claws were missing.

“In the kitchen I could see bedding in the washing machine which had been washed and there was a mop on the floor of the utility area, which was snapped into two pieces. The stick was damp as though it had been washed.”

A post-mortem revealed the cat had sustained several skull fractures as a result of blunt force trauma.

Scans also showed she had received several rib fractures which were likely to have been inflicted four to six weeks before.

Inspector Fletcher added: “The girlfriend says she heard Sajad Hussain shouting at Kia along with banging and the cat screaming before she found the pet with severe head injuries.

"The findings suggest the cat sustained these injuries as a result of physical abuse inflicted by Hussain.”

In mitigation, the court was told that Hussain, who has a lengthy history of drug misuse and suffers from poor mental health, was remorseful.

The court made an award of £1,000 court costs from central funds.

Speaking after the sentencing, inspector Fletcher said: “Kia’s loss is greatly felt by her owner and it is a testament to her bravery in speaking up that justice has now been carried out on Kia's behalf and that no other animal shall be placed at risk from the defendant in the future.”