A man whose grandmother’s cat died after he claimed plastic boxes fell on the pet has been jailed for three years.

Kieron Thornby was also banned from keeping all animals for life after a prosecution by the RSPCA, who investigated the cause of death of his relative’s pet at her home in Balmoral Drive in Woking.

He was staying at his grandmother’s property at the time the ginger tabby cat called Teddy Bear died. Thornby was alone with the pet when the cat suffered multiple injuries. A post-mortem revealed they could not have been caused by boxes falling onto the animal as the defendant said.

Thornby, 20, from Western Hill, Sunderland, pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering by inflicting blunt force trauma under the Animal Welfare Act 2006 and was handed a custodial sentence and a life-time disqualification when he appeared at Guildford Crown Court on April 7.

The court was told that Thornby moved into his grandmother’s house in February 2023 and on the evening of Saturday, May 13 the defendant had been left alone in the house with Teddy Bear while he was watching a football match.

The defendant claimed he heard “a number of loud noises and noticed some boxes had fallen over on to the cat who was crying in pain”. He said he picked up the cat, who had blood on his face, but the feline scratched him and he reacted by “dropping the cat on the floor”.

Thornby said he took the cat into the kitchen to wipe the blood, but was bitten by the cat.

Teddy Bear later passed away as a result of his injuries and a vet, who examined the cat’s body, said the injuries the pet sustained included five rib fractures, a haemorrhage to the brain and haemorrhages to the lungs, neck and jaw. The cat also suffered a collapsed lung.

RSPCA Inspector Jo Bowling said when she later visited the property as part of the investigation she could find only one plastic box containing crafting items.

“The only clear plastic box I could see was approx 2ft by 1ft by 1ft and contained crafting items, tapestries etc. It wasn’t heavy, I could pick up one end using just one hand. This box was placed on the floor,” said the inspector.

The vet concluded that the cat had suffered physical abuse which resulted in a number of severe blunt force trauma injuries.

In mitigation, the court heard the defendant had a “traumatic upbringing” and had shown a “lack of maturity”.

The judge said: “This is an awful offence as you killed a living creature and a cat that was very dear to your grandmother who could have not done any harm to you.

“You say you did not use a weapon, but what you did was pick up that defenceless animal because in drink you were upset with the football, picked him up and threw him at a door. The cat may have suffered greatly before he died.”

The defendant was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £228.