Allegation that elderly neighbour had sex with cat exposed as a lie

An investigation‚ including a veterinary examination‚ has found that an allegation that an elderly man was caught having sex with a cat in Verulam on Friday was false.

The Durban and North Coast SPCA said that the owner of the animal‚ who was the only witness to the incident‚ had since changed her story‚ that there was no medical evidence of trauma and that the cat had to be put down because of neglect.

"Our chief veterinarian carried out a thorough examination and could find absolutely no evidence to support the owner’s allegations that the cat had been raped‚" the organisation said.

In the statement posted on its official Facebook page‚ the SPCA said its owner told its inspector that she had only seen the cat in her neighbour's room and that "he had placed the cat on his lap."

The owner also told SPCA that she no longer wanted the feline.

On Friday private security company Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) released photographs and a video on its Facebook page‚ claiming that a man had been arrested after he was caught having sex with a cat.

The cat's owner had told security officers that her elderly male neighbour had raped her pet cat.

"Our inspector was only able to obtain the cat owner’s details from police on Monday. Police advised that Friday that they declined to take the case further as the cat owner’s version was unreliable and she had changed her story‚ saying that she was not sure what she had seen‚" SPCA said in its statement.

When the SPCA inspector contacted the owner to arrange for the cat to be examined‚ the cat could not be found. A cat trap had to be set up and the feline was caught a short while later.

"The cat was in poor condition and had been denied much-needed veterinary treatment. She had severe crusting on both ears from sun-induced invasive skin cancer which is incurable‚" the SPCA said.

"She was underweight and tick infested. Sadly‚ the girl had to be humanely euthanized in order to prevent prolonged suffering."

The animal protection organisation said it was unfortunate that RUSA "sensationally publicised a case without first investigating the veracity of the allegations."

"Had any medical evidence been found to support the owner’s rape allegation‚ our SPCA would have taken a strong stance with SAPS and ensured that a case of bestiality be opened."

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Thulani Zwane told TimesLIVE that no criminal case had been opened against the man.