Archie Spencer's kitten Wolfie finally had to be put to sleep when he was taken to the vets with the skull injury - which is when the RSCPA was alerted.
The 19-year-old, pleaded guilty to two animal welfare offences when he appeared at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court on November 26, in which he admitted causing unnecessary suffering to the cat.
His partner Rebecca Guy, 19, pleaded guilty to one animal welfare offence of failing to protect the cat from pain and suffering, and was given an eight-week jail term suspended for a year.
The court heard how between January 25 and March 28 the couple’s ginger kitten called Wolfie suffered numerous injuries while living in a flat with them.
Guy first took the kitten to a vets with a head injury, weeks later he had five broken ribs and on the third occasion - on March 28 - he had a horrific skull fracture which went from one side of his head to the other. The final injury was so serious the vet decided the kindest thing was to put the four-month old to sleep and, believing the injuries had been caused deliberately, the RSPCA was alerted.
Inspector Kate Parker, who investigated, said: “The pair had always denied harming the cat, however in court Spencer took responsibility for the injuries to Wolfie - although we will never know what actually happened. “What we do know is on three occasions Guy took the cat to the vets with serious injuries, each time claiming they were accidental.
“On the third and final occasion the cat was clearly badly injured. The vet took some video showing poor Wolfie who looks barely alive and when she touched him he reacts, which demonstrates he would have felt pain. “That is when the decision was made to end his suffering and later an X-ray revealed his horrific skull fracture.
“Poor Wolfie was only four months old and in that short life enjoyed so much suffering and pain - it is horrendous to think what he went through. In the end he was barely alive and breathing in his own blood, it was truly awful.