A Finchley cat breeder must pay nearly £25,000 in court costs after losing a second High Court battle to keep exotic animals in his back garden.

The purr-fectly named Philip Catt was originally ordered to demolish the brick and wire structures last October after the High Court dismissed his appeal against the decision of a Government planning inspector.

And last Friday the High Court confirmed its decision by quashing an injunction lodged by Mr Catt against Barnet Council to delay the removal of the cages, due to take place on March 26.

The judge also threw out Mr Catt's application for a judicial review of his case and upheld the decision of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Hazel Blears, to refuse retrospective planning permission.

More than £20,000 in costs were awarded to Barnet Council and £3,000 to the Secretary of State.

Council leader Mike Freer said: "Mr Catt's nine lives have finally run out.

"This is a victory not just for Barnet Council but also for the residents living within the conservation area who have faced the blight of Mr Catt's illegal buildings for many years."

The feline friction began in June 2006 when Mr Catt built the first of the four 10m by 8.6m cages at his home in Finchley Garden Village Conservation Area, in Church End, to breed Savannah cats.

He immediately incurred the anger of neighbours, who felt they did not fit in with the area.

Carolyn Lewis, 50, a home search and relocation specialist who campaigned for the cages to be removed, suggested at the first High Court hearing that they were "more in keeping with London Zoo".

The council issued the first notice requiring demolition of the structures in August 2006. Mr Catt appealed to the Planning Inspectorate the following month, and then to the High Court in April 2007, where the Inspectorate's decision was upheld.

Mr Catt now has one month to remove the structures voluntarily. If he fails to do so, the council will remove the cages within two weeks.