DEAD kittens lying in the streets of Bradford could soon become normal, cat rescues have warned.

Laura Westcough, who founded Pink Paws Cat Rescue with two friends, is rescuing around nine to ten cats each day - often found trapped under rubbish.

The root cause of the problem, she says, is down to families not neutering their cats and leaving them to fend for themselves after moving away.

One volunteer, who also works 60 hour weeks, is caring for 27 cats at her family home.

This year it’s been atrocious. It’s the worst one by far... We’re not really getting to the root of the problem. We are picking up the pieces of a horrible mess" - Laura Westcough, Pink Paws Cat Rescue 

These figures make 2019 one of the “worst” years yet with the most offending locations - Kensington Street and Hollings Street - found in the BD8 postcode.

Laura, who also marked out BD4 and BD6 as places overrun by kittens, said: “It’s always been a big problem.

“This year it’s been atrocious. It’s the worst one by far.

“People get them and they don’t follow through and give them the correct care that they need.

“It’s the microchip, the vaccines and the neutering.

“We’re not really getting to the root of the problem. We are picking up the pieces of a horrible mess.

“We’ve got nearly 50 cats. We all work full time. It’s too much.

“I can’t see that we and other cat rescues can manage more years like this.”

Read more: Where you can neuter cats for just £5 in Bradford and Keighley

Laura thinks part of the problem stems from language barriers.

To tackle the problem, Laura is hoping to design information leaflets in three languages to reach new communities who don’t neuter their cats.

The 32-year-old from Bingley said: “A mix of culture is not bad but their animal ownership is something to be desired.

“It’s just getting people’s mindsets to change. It’s a task.”

Another animal fosterer from Bradford has written to Bradford West MP Naz Shah to raise the seriousness of the issue.

Billie-Jean Nixon linked the rise to having both Bradford’s RSPCA branch and Cats Protection out of operation for eight months.

And not only is it an issue of neglect but one ultimately of disease and death.

The fosterer, who works with Ally Cats Rescue of Thornton, said: “Rescues are run off their feet, not a single space to be had.

“Cats are left unneutered, especially in the Girlington area.

“Kittens are handed to children like playthings. They are left unneutered having kittens on the streets. The toms fighting and suffering horrific wounds.

"It isn't just Girlington, although that is a particular hotspot, but Bradford as a whole is struggling to cope. This year has been the worst yet and I suspect next year will be even worse, it's soul destroying."

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