A Ballarat couple pleading guilty to operating an illegal kitten breeding and selling ring have been given more time by the court to secure funding for a lawyer.
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Kon and Liudmila Petropoulos, appeared at the County Court in Ballarat on Friday for a short hearing, where the court heard the couple had not finalised payment on legal representation.
Liudmila Petropoulos told the court documents on properties owned by the couple had not yet been filed, and therefore the loan to pay for a lawyer had not yet been approved.
In 2020, the pair were found to have kept 27 cats and kittens in cramped and unsanitary conditions and in various states of ill health.
They also sold sick kittens to several people, who then had to seek veterinary treatment for conditions including ring worm, feline chlamydia and different infections.
When investigators attended the Petropoulos' home, they found cats and kittens living in cramped cages, with many forced to sit or sleep in litter trays.
After the RSPCA seized eight visibly ill kittens on July 10, 2020, a vet found they were suffering from several contagious conditions that would have been visible to their owners for at least a week.
The duo also failed to provide adequate documentation for the kittens they sold - including evidence of de-sexing, microchipping and vaccinations - and also failed to have a health management plan in place to care for the kittens.
At an earlier hearing, prosecuting lawyer Krystyna Grinberg said the Petropoulos' had a long history of mistreatment and keeping animals in confined spaces.
She said the current charges of cruelty had occurred barely a month after the couple had been banned from conducting a domestic animal business in the Geelong Magistrates' Court.
Ms Grinberg opposed an adjournment at Friday's hearing, however Judge Anne Hassan granted two weeks for the couple to finalise funding for legal representation.
Judge Hassan said a sentence would be handed down on September 8 regardless of whether the Petropoulos' were represented.
The judge also ordered the pair to be assessed for a community corrections order, which could serve as an alternative to prison time.
However Judge Hassan said prison time, and fines, were still on the table for a possible sentence.
Speaking outside of the Ballarat Law Courts on Friday, RSPCA Victoria chief inspector Michael Stagg said he was glad to see the "long-running" investigation into the couple come to a close, and welcomed a "just punishment".
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"It has been a long running matter and we are looking forward to a resolution in two weeks from now in Melbourne," Mr Stagg said.
"This has been a long running case involving this couple who have been serial offenders.
"RSPCA would be hoping for a severe punishment issued by the courts, not only to send a message to these offenders but to other potential offenders."
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