Kitten with multiple fractures rescued by RSPCA from ‘sadistic’ attacks at Rotherham couple's home
A six month-old cat found with multiple fractures and burns - who was the only survivor from three kittens abused by their Rotherham owners - is now loving life in his new home.
Dylan the tuxedo cat was rescued by the RSPCA after another eight-week old female kitten from the same household was rushed into a South Yorkshire veterinary practice in a collapsed state.
Despite vets performing emergency CPR the poorly kitten had sadly already passed away.
However, vets noted how a month earlier the same couple, from Rotherham, had taken another eight week-old female kitten into the practice suffering from a broken jaw and brain injuries - which they claimed had happened accidentally. The kitten had to be put to sleep to end her suffering.
The vet raised their concerns about the suspicious deaths - the first happened in June 2023 and the second a month later - to the RSPCA and an investigation was launched.
As part of the case an RSPCA inspector was sent to the couple’s address and discovered Dylan living at the property in terrible condition. She persuaded the couple to allow her to take Dylan for urgent veterinary treatment.
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When he was examined the poor young kitten was found to have numerous fractures to his ribs, hip and tail which a vet said was consistent with malicious injury such as stamping, forceful kicking and aggressive manipulation of the tail. The injury to his hip had also made him lame.
Meanwhile, post-mortem examinations on the other kittens took place which showed traumatic injuries including numerous broken bones, a severe skull injury and burns to their feet.
Dylan underwent surgery for his broken hip and was given pain relief and placed in the care of the RSPCA’s Chesterfield and North Derbyshire branch where he began his road to recovery and his tail fractures healed by themselves.
Lynsey Harris, RSPCA Chief Inspector for South Yorkshire, said: “The injuries sustained to Dylan were awful - he was a tiny kitten but with so many fractures to his body which had clearly happened at different times as some had almost healed on their own.
“It was a really sad case to deal with and sadly two other kittens in the household died and I am just thankful we were able to save Dylan and get him on the road to recovery thanks to the dedication of staff at our Chesterfield branch who put him out to foster in March last year to get him ready for adoption.
“That is why we are urging people to support our Summer Cruelty Campaign so we can help rescue more animals from cruelty and give them a loving future they deserve.”
Thanks to the public’s support Dylan has now put his horrific past behind him and is loving life with his new owner Susan*, a languages teacher, who lives in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
She said: “Dylan is a real character and everyone who comes to visit me loves him - he is the biggest and softest cat you can meet and loves to sit on people’s laps once he has got to know them.
“He loves food and I have set meal times for him and he has his evening meal at 4.30pm - but now he has started demanding it at 3.30pm and will look at me with his gorgeous amber eyes and squawk at me almost saying ‘I want to eat’.
“I was told about his past and it is really upsetting to hear about - but he has certainly put that behind him and happily goes out for a wander and comes back for food and cuddles. He is wary of people he doesn’t know, absolutely hates the doorbell and I have to be careful not to touch his back leg as he isn’t keen on that which is understandable. But he is a real character and I am so pleased to have him in my life.
“I have had cats in my family for years and thought it was time to get another and looked at the RSPCA branch website. I actually went to look at adopting another cat - but Dylan strutted over to me and sat on my knee so that was it - love at first sight!
“He now brings so much joy and amusement to me and my family and I would always advocate that people adopt from rescue centres to help more cats like Dylan get the life they deserve.”
Steph McCawley, from the branch, said: “He arrived with us in an awful state. Due to his injuries, he had to be put on cage rest to ensure he received the most rest for his leg while it was healing.
“Our animal care staff were amazing with his care and rehabilitation spending time with him each day to get this strength back. Every day they could see him getting stronger. He became a real character during his time with us and all the staff and volunteers loved him.
“When he was mobile again, and the staff were cleaning his pen, you would often see him wandering around the cattery saying ‘hello’ to all the other resident cats. He loved making new friends and would especially love to look after any kittens we had. We are so happy he has found the most perfect home and he is getting all the love he really deserves.”
The RSPCA rescue animals from the worst cruelty, provide life-saving treatment, and give them all the care and love they urgently need. The charity launched its Summer Cruelty Campaign and is urging people to help by choosing to donate.”
The RSPCA is highlighting the story as part of its Summer Cruelty Campaign - showing the side of this season which many people don’t see - when animal cruelty reports peak.
In June, July and August last year the RSPCA took 34,401 cruelty calls to their emergency line - compared to 25,887 the year before, an increase of more than a third.