British woman puts kitten in microwave for attacking goldfish, jailed

A British woman who put her kitten in the microwave as a punishment for attacking her pet goldfish, was on Thursday jailed for 14 weeks for what the judge called 'an act of horrendous cruelty'.

A British woman who put her kitten in the microwave as a punishment for attacking her pet goldfish, was on Thursday jailed for 14 weeks for what the judge called “an act of horrendous cruelty”.

Laura Cunliffe, 23, had earlier admitted to putting her black-and-white Mowgli kitten into the microwave and turning it on for five minutes after finding the remains of the goldfish on the floor. She rescued the kitten after about a minute, but it died later.

District judge John Foster at the Barnsley Magistrates Court said he had to sentence Cunliffe to jail as a deterrent.

Foster told the defendant: "This was an act of utterly horrendous cruelty on your part on an animal that, as far as I could see, had come to trust you and rely on you," and added that he actions were "inexplicable".

Cunliffe's solicitor, Alan Greaves, told the court that his client has longstanding problems with psychotic depression.

Cunliffe was also banned from keeping animals for life and was told she cannot apply to have this ban reviewed for five years.