A man who killed his ex-partner's cat because he was annoyed by the animal's scratching has escaped jail.
Richard John Carrington Le Conte, 29, throttled the pet and left it under a blanket.
The moggie was buried but later exhumed when he confessed that he may have harmed it - and the body underwent three different post mortems.
One of them found its neck had been partially dislocated and Le Conte, from the Channel Island of Guernsey, was arrested and charged.
He has now been banned from keeping, working with or being responsible for any animals for five years.
The Magistrates' Court of Guernsey heard how the defendant had been in a relationship with a woman for two years and they were living together.
Lenny was a house cat and in good health, but one evening the woman went to bed, leaving Le Conte and the cat together.
When she got up the next morning she left for college, but did not see Lenny. When she checked the flat later, she found Lenny dead under a table, covered in a blanket. Le Conte contacted the GSPCA to ask what to do, but declined an autopsy.
Lenny was buried in the garden belonging to one of the owner's relatives, and during the process the owner noticed there was blood around his nose.
The following week Le Conte was struggling with his mental health and admitted to his mother that he might have been responsible for Lenny's death. He said the cat's scratching had bothered him, so he had held the cat by the neck.
His mother was worried about Le Conte so took him to hospital, and Le Conte later repeated his comments about the cat to a doctor.
The cat's body was exhumed and a post mortem showed it was in good condition and there was no evidence Lenny had been fighting or had any bruising.
A second post mortem found a neck joint had been partially dislocated and bruising in that area, which could have been caused by a sudden rotational injury.
A third post mortem, ordered by the defence, said the cat died due to a sudden brain abscess.
A few weeks after the cat incident, it was noticed that Le Conte's former partner's front door was damaged and the defendant admitted using a screwdriver to try and gain access.
Defence advocate Liam Roffey said his client had been struggling with his mental health and medication at the time of the incidents, as well as the breakdown of his relationship.
He accepted that his client had an appalling record.
Judge Gary Perry said the fact the offences happened in a domestic setting was an aggravating factor
He noted that Le Conte had been on remand for the last six months, so handing down a prison sentence for the crimes would likely see him walk free from court.
Instead, he was handed a one-year probation order for each of the charges, which will run concurrently, as well as a five -year ban from having animals.
Le Conte had previously pleaded not guilty to a burglary charge and an assault charge, as well as charges of keeping a person imprisoned and wantonly asphyxiating a cat.
No evidence was offered for these charges and they were dismissed.
