A cruel pet owner who killed his cat by slitting her throat, subjecting her to ‘an afternoon and evening of violence’, has been jailed for six months.

Adam Neil Alkour, 32, used a razor blade to cut the neck of his six-year-old black and white cat Darwin at his home in Newcastle before letting her bleed out in the bathroom, a court heard.

He then texted a friend describing killing the cat as “bad craic” adding, “Don’t flip. Feeling f**king unholy as f**k.”

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Alkour appeared before Newcastle Crown Court on Monday (November 14) where he was sentenced to six months in prison and handed a lifetime ban from keeping animals.

The Northern Echo: Darwin the cat.Darwin the cat. (Image: RSPCA)

He previously pleaded guilty at Newcastle Magistrates Court and the case was sent to Crown Court for sentencing.

The court heard Alkour had broken the cat's leg and decided to kill her two days later because a vet might notice he had caused the injury.

He secured the cat in a towel before inflicting her with a deliberate injury intending to kill her, and admitted to watching her bleed to death.

The 32-year-old then walked six miles from his home at Grafton House, Heaton Park Road, to bury the cat’s body before going back the next day “to do it better because the ground was so frozen.”

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Alkour then texted a friend admitting to killing Darwin before begging “please don’t get me sanctioned or call the police please (sic).”

The Northern Echo:

The Northern Echo: Texts sent by Alkour to a friend after he killed Darwin.Texts sent by Alkour to a friend after he killed Darwin. (Image: RSPCA)

A vet report into Darwin’s death concluded that she would have suffered “extreme pain and trauma” and that the “period of suffering may have been many minutes.”

In mitigation, Alkour said that Darwin was ‘dumped’ on him and that he was suffering with his mental health and struggling to care for himself. He also said that he unsuccessfully tried to rehome her.

At sentencing, the judge commented that the case was “serious and well investigated” and stated that people who are “cruel to animals in a serious way will see a prison sentence.”

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The RSPCA investigated the incident after they were alerted to the death of six-year-old black and white cat Darwin who had been in Alkour’s care for around seven months.

The Northern Echo: Darwin the cat.Darwin the cat. (Image: RSPCA)

Alkour was sentenced to six months immediate imprisonment for cutting his cat’s throat, and two months imprisonment to run concurrently for failing to get her vet treatment for her broken leg and failing to protect her from injury or pain. He was also given a lifetime ban on keeping all animals which he cannot appeal for a minimum of 10 years.

He was ordered to pay a £128 victim surcharge upon release from custody and costs of around £2,300 were awarded from central funds.

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