A kitten crushed in the works of a reclining sofa was left in agony for almost 20 hours after its owner failed to get help, a court heard yesterday.

The animal, which had a broken spine, pelvis and back legs, had to be put down when Stacey Ross eventually took it to a vet.

Nigel Monaghan, prosecuting for the RSPCA, told Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court that the animal was in a great deal of pain and its suffering could have been reduced if it had been taken to the vet sooner.

Mr Monaghan said: “The kitten had been effectively squashed under a settee mechanism. It was taken to Keighley Pets At Home with what the vet described as

horrific injuries. It had been crushed and had a broken back and screamed with pain when touched.”

He said the vets carried out immediate euthanasia to put the kitten out of its suffering.

Ross, 25, of Greenhead Lane, Keighley, had previously admitted causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.

She was jailed for 28 days, with a further seven days for failing to surrender to the court, and disqualified from keeping any animal for five years.

The kitten had suffered its injuries at about 7.30pm on Saturday, September 28 last year, but the defendant did not go to the vet’s until 3pm next day.

Mr Monaghan said: “Clearly she did not cause the injury to the kitten. It was the total failure to do anything in the knowledge of how severe the injuries were.”

The court heard the kitten was injured while two other people in the house were messing about.

Ross was asleep andt was woken and told what had happened but took no action. She said she had no money to catch a bus to the PDSA, even though two vet practices were within a five-minute walk.

Ross’s solicitor, Saf Salam, said his client had suffered a broken pelvis herself after being dragged down the road by a car. She had made some effort to contact a vet.

He said she accepted she did not obtain the necessary care for the kitten, but she had not caused the suffering herself.