A stray cat attack has left a burly builder in a hospital bed on a drip.

The black feral moggy sunk its sharp teeth deep into six-footer Dominic Tallant's left hand and scratched his right arm - drawing blood - after he cornered it in a bid to stop it pestering his own pets.

For months the stray has been terrorising his family's own four cats, who are now too scared to leave their home in Springville Terrace, Idle.

So, with the help of his wife Lisa and other neighbours, Mr Tallant, 33, a chimney repair specialist, managed to grab hold of the black cat in a bid to get it into a makeshift trap.

But it lunged at him, biting his left hand, which swelled and turned red, then purple.

The injury landed him in a hospital bed at Bradford Royal Infirmary where, for two nights, he had to be given antibiotics through a drip.

Mrs Tallant, a 24-year-old mother-of-one, said: "There was a lot of blood because it scratched him right where his veins are on his right arm and it sunk its teeth into his left hand.

"We went inside the house and there was blood all over his arms and because he had been bitten by an animal, we thought we would just go and get a shot.

"But his hand started to go red then purple over the course of the day, so we went to accident and emergency and he had tetanus and anti-biotics.

"His hand later became very swollen, so we called NHS Direct and they advised us to go back to A&E. They decided to keep him in, elevate his arm and give him anti-biotics through a drip."

Mrs Tallant added: "He's about six foot tall, so it is a surprise he's been put in hospital by a cat but it is a wild animal and they carry diseases."

She said that her husband decided to take action after the feral cat repeatedly attacked their pets Molly, Spike, Lenny and Jess over the past three months.

"We are sick of our cats being harassed. This cat has been causing so much grief for three months it has been terrorising our own cats," she said. "They are now too scared to go out to go to the toilet.

"It has been fighting with them and has given them illnesses. We have four cats so the vets bills have been expensive."

And she said that she had contacted the RSPCA asking it to take the cat away for re-homing, only to be told that it would not be possible.

Mrs Tallant said: "I am surprised and concerned that nobody is willing to help us. If it had been a dog, it would have been caught and put to sleep by now and there are numerous help lines with information for people who have been bitten by dogs but not for cats.

"It is a problem and it needs sorting out."

Leanne Goacher, of the RSPCA, said the charity had done all it could to help the Tallants as feral cats were not a welfare issue unless they had health problems.

She said: "We are sorry to hear about what happened to Mr Tallant and wish him a speedy recovery.

"Fit and healthy, or nuisance feral cats are not a welfare issue, and we generally advise that people contact their local environmental health office or council.

"It is believed there are more than a million living as wild animals in the UK.

"We received three calls from Mr and Mrs Tallant. On January 4 we were called about two feral cats, one of which was described as poorly and we set a trap.

"On January 8 we received another call to say that the ill cat had, in fact, been caught and we collected it and took it away for treatment.

"On February 12 we were called about a healthy feral cat and Mr and Mrs Tallant were advised accordingly."

e-mail: marc.meneaud @telegraphandargus.co.uk