A cat was zipped up inside a bag by its owner and thrown into the grounds of an RSPCA centre in Bradford, a court heard.

Attached to the bag was a note which read: "My name is Sooty - please look after me."

But the terrified animal was not found until the centre's caretaker saw his dogs playing tug-of-war with the bag, prosecutor Nigel Monaghan told Bradford magistrates yesterday.

Inquiries by RSPCA Inspector Trevor Walker revealed that Sooty - and another cat called C4 - had been abandoned the previous month in Bowling Park, but both had found their way home again.

Mark Battensby, 37, of Dawson Terrace, Tong Street, Bradford, pleaded guilty to three charges of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

He was given a community punishment order for 80 hours with £200 costs.

His wife, Della, 20, of the same address, admitted two similar offences and was given a 60-hour community punishment order, also with £200 costs.

Both were banned from keeping animals for ten years.

Mr Monaghan said the green haversack containing Sooty was thrown over a 6ft high metal fence and brick retaining wall into the gardens of the RSPCA centre in Mount Street last November.

The caretaker, John Smith, handed it to Inspector Walker who noticed an "overpowering stench" of urine and faeces when he opened it and found the distressed cat inside.

Inquiries led him to the couple's home, where he found they had another cat and a dog, both of which were in normal condition.

Mark Battensby initially claimed he had given Sooty away to a friend, but after speaking to his partner he admitted what he had done.

He said he and his partner had a five-months old baby to look after and the cat was ignoring the litter trays and relieving itself in the house.

"I was at my wits' end," he told the officer. "I knew you would look after him."

He also admitted that he and his partner had abandoned Sooty and C4 in the park, but they had returned home within two and a half days.

About a week after he dumped Sooty at the RSPCA centre, C4 disappeared and had not been seen since.

Philippa Murray, mitigating, said the couple were not the sort of people who regarded animals as a burden, but the cats had become a problem by not using the trays provided.

"The offences arose through lack of thought about how to deal with the problems," she said.