A sickening total of five cats are now thought to have been poisoned with anti-freeze on an Eldwick estate, the Telegraph & Argus can reveal.

Alerted by our report on how Emma Murby’s two beloved cats were callously killed, angry dad-of-two David Grainger has now told how his two pets drank the deadly chemical – as did a rare cat belonging to another neighbour.

The Grainger family live just four doors from Martin Raistrick, whose albino Maine Coon-type cat was killed during the May bank holiday.

They live in quiet cul-de-sac Swan Avenue, just yards from Mrs Murby’s home in Bewick Avenue and the poisonings all fit the same timescale.

Mr Grainger told how they got kittens Ozzie and Oscar in 2000 from a rescue home.

He and wife Angela, 43, have lived in Swan Avenue for seven years with daughter Lauren, 16, and son Callum, 12.

“We’ve always been very happy here. It’s a nice little community,” said Mr Grainger, who is secretary of Eldwick Juniors football club.

“One night last October, Ozzie started being sick, became really wobbly and couldn’t walk. He was breathing heavily and I thought he was fitting, so we took him to the PDSA.

“The vet said it was anti-freeze poisoning, but sadly they couldn’t save him, so we had to let him go.

“Then on May 9, the same thing happened with Oscar. He coughed up a huge furball and was very sick so we took him straight to the vets – where he’s been on a drip ever since.

The poisoning also interfered with the family’s joy at watching Bradford City triumph at Wembley last weekend.

“Luckily both cats were insured as it cost £750 for Ozzie and I dread to think what the bill will be for Oscar – but that’s not the point,” Mr Grainger said.

Mrs Grainger said the whole family had been terribly upset and now desperately hoped little Oscar would recover and make it home safely.

“We have been distraught. This is so malicious. Whoever’s doing it is inhuman and evil,” she said.

Their friend Mr Raistrick, 36, told how his pure white two-year-old cat Casper was a boisterous young animal until the May Bank Holiday when suddenly he vomited and slumped to the floor in agony.

“Casper was just in the garden unable to stand up,” said sales manager Mr Raistrick.

He took him to his local vet and Casper was then transferred to an animal hospital in Shipley where he didn’t make it through the night.

“Although he belonged to my ex-partner, he’d stayed with me and become part of life for me and my children when they stay over,” Mr Raistrick said.

West Yorkshire police community support officers have carried out door-to-door inquiries. Anyone with information is urged to contact Bingley and Worth Neighbourhood Police Team on 01274 475331, Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999. For details on detecting anti-freeze poisoning, visit rspca.org.uk/poisoning.

e-mail: chris.tate@telegraphandargus.co.uk