CONVICTED (2013) | pet hoarders Estella Victory Brown, born 30 April and David Evans, at the time living together in Penn Road, Aylesbury HP21 8JU – kept 13 cats in squalor and mistreated them. Cat hoarders and abusers Estella Brown and David Evans The jobless couple kept the 13 poorly cats in a squalid environment stained with faeces. Their severe financial problems meant they were unable to afford cat food or vets bills. Janita Patel, prosecuting on behalf of the RSPCA, said on one visit to the property, Brown had to be prevented from throwing a cat out of the window. The 13 cats were neglected and at risk of violence due to Brown’s volatile nature She added that inspectors found a black cat called Sooty had injured her leg and that a thin, ginger cat had bones protruding from her fur. The cats, who were fed a diet of bread and raw potatoes, were all under-weight and infested with fleas. Five of them were immediately taken to a vet after a visit to the house in May and had to be put down. Evans realised they were unable to cope but did not clean the house because Brown would have ‘gone mad’, Miss Patel said. Brown, whose pets’ names included Smokey, Ben and Tigger, considered herself a ‘good owner’, the court heard. Magistrates were also told she prefers cats to humans and took in a number of them to help out friends. Chair of the magistrates Anna Taylor told a tearful Brown that her behaviour was ‘reckless and grossly negligent’. RSPCA Inspector Jaimie Godfrey said: “This was a really sad case. “These cats were living in utterly unsanitary and grimy conditions – it was heartbreaking to see.” The pair pleaded guilty to counts including failing to meet the needs of their cats and failing to protect them from pain. Sentencing | Brown and Evans were sentenced to 200 and 180 hours of unpaid work in the community respectively. Five-year ban (expired 2018). Source: Bucks Herald (link removed)