AN IRVINE man has been jailed for his part in a twisted game that left a family’s pet cat horribly mutilated.

Owen McCullagh, of Bimson Place, picked harmless Angelica (pictured) up off the street and took her back to a house in Gottries Road, where her ears were sliced off and her tail amputated as part of a sickening dare.

Owner Louise Thomson and her two daughters Victoria, 13, and nine-year-old Eleanor frantically searched for their beloved pet for more than 24 hours after she disappeared on June 9, last year.

Around 12.30am on June 11, they heard a chap at the letterbox - the sound Angelica normally made when she returned - and rushed to answer it, but were horrified to find her covered in blood, missing her ears and tail.

They took the brutalised pet to an emergency vet where she received some treatment, before being sent on to another vet, who examined her injuries and confirmed they were the result of a deliberate act.

The shocking story made headline news back in June, and had the whole town talking, including one woman, who brought it up in conversation with McCullagh and another man while visiting them in Gottries Road.

When she did, they told her: “We done this. We cut that.” When the police were informed, they visited the property on June 16, took photographs and gathered forensic samples, confirming the presence of feline blood.

McCullagh was also identified as the man who had picked Angelica up while walking down Gottries Road at around 6pm on June 9.

The 23-year-old roofer appeared at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week, when he pled guilty to acting along with others to cause unnecessary suffering to a protected animal.

McCullagh admitted drinking heavily and taking illegal substances on the day, before he picked Angelica up and took her home, intending to play with her.

Though he denied being the one who physically attacked the animal, he admitted being a part of drink and drug-fuelled game, during which he and others were making sadistic bets with each other about what they would or wouldn’t do.

His lawyer, Mr Gallan, explained: “He took the cat into the house and at that time he only wanted to play with it, but later on, as things took a more evil turn, he had a responsibility to the cat and he failed in that.” Insisting that McCullagh deeply regretted his actions, Mr Gallan went on to say that his client “has a very troubled background, which may explain why he was attracted to such a negative peer group, but he as already tried to move away from that”.

In passing sentence, Sheriff Brian Murphy said: “It is beyond my understanding why anyone would be party to mutilating a cat by cutting off its ears and tail. Such cruelty is extremely disturbing and in my view can only be met by a custodial sentence.” McCullagh, who also admitted failing to appear at court and making sexually abusive comments to a pair of women in July, 2011, was sentenced to a total of 13 months imprisonment.

The Times spoke to Louise Thomson’s husband David after the sentencing, who was pleased to report that Angelica is still part of the family and “back to her old self”, though it had taken her some time to recover from her ordeal.

David, 43, added: “We’re absolutely delighted with the sentence because there’s too much animal cruelty that goes unpunished. We’re delighted that the police pursued it.

“It did take them a long time, and he didn’t want to come to court, but they were determined to get him.

“Hopefully, if anything good can come out it this, it’ll bring some attention to these kind of crimes and convince the Scottish Government that more needs to be done to protect animals from this kind of cruelty.”