Kittens 'left to die' inside box rescued

The three kittens had to undergo emergency surgery overnight

Three kittens "left to die" in a taped-up box have been rescued after they were discovered by a dog walker in Bradford city centre, a local cat rescue has revealed.

Volunteers at Bradford Cat Watch Rescue & Sanctuary said they were alerted to the "malnourished" animals after a dog sniffed out the box on Wednesday evening near Harewood Street and dragged their owner towards it.

A trio of kittens "less than a month old" were found inside the box in a "horrifying" condition, according to Katie Lloyd from the not-for profit rescue.

The animals were taken to an emergency vets overnight and were provided with emergency treatment including antibiotics, eye drops and pain relief.

They were "full of fleas, had eyes glued shut with ocular discharge" and could "barely hold their own weak frames", said the rescue.

"They are the weight of a newborn, they are that malnourished."

Even though one of the domestic shorthairs stopped breathing in the early hours, Ms Lloyd said the condition of the animals had improved.

The volunteer-led organisation said they were "bursting at the seams with trauma cases like this one", adding that the amount of cats in need in Bradford was "definitely increasing".

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