9:00am Wednesday 10th October 2007
By Gordon Rogers
THREE cats have died after being poisoned with what was believed to be anti-freeze.
Within six weeks, the pets belonging to Linda Painting, Tina Webb and Natasha Alder, all from Berrycroft in Abingdon, were taken ill and despite the efforts of vets died from kidney failure.
The RSPCA had a postmortem examination carried out on one of the cats and has sent a suspected contaminated fish finger for chemical analysis.
The first cat to develop symptoms was Rosie, an 11-month old grey, that belonged to Mrs Painting.
She said: "She did not look very well and was off her food. We found a fish finger she brought home that was blue. It looked like anti-freeze.
"We took her to the vet for an x-ray and later an operation but she died from liver failure. It cost us more than £600 in fees and we were not insured. Rosie was a lovely cat and it was difficult for us to explain her death to my son Ben who has disabilities. I cannot understand the mentality of people who can be so cruel."
Pogle was a 12-year-old black and white rescue cat owned by Tina Webb, who lives four doors away from Mrs Painting. Pogle came home with a piece of food she had found and was taken ill soon afterwards. Pogle was taken to the vetinerary surgery and placed on a Vodka-drip to counteract the effects of the poisoning. She was also force-fed with charcoal.
Miss Webb said: "The vet tried everything but couldn't save Pogle. She was an affectionate cat. I just cannot image what gets into people. It was a heartless and callous thing to do to deliberately set out to poison someone's pet. I buried Pogle in the garden and light a candle in a small lantern every day."
Natasha Alder's five-year-old part-Siamese cat Spock disappeared for two days before returning in a poor state of health. She said: "He was in pain so I took him to the vet but he could not be saved. The poisoning had gone too far and he died of kidney failure. Spock was in a lot of pain before he died.
"He was so much part of the family and his death has upset us all. My daughter Elise was in tears. I can understand some people not liking cats but to go to such lengths and deliberately poison an animal is so heartless."
Spock was taken to an RSPCA centre at Winchester where a postmortem examination was carried out and food samples sent for laboratory analysis. Inspector Doug Davidson said: "We are investigating the possible poisoning of all three cats who lived not far away from each other. I carried out door-to-door inquiries in the neighbourhood and warned pet owners to be on the alert. It is very distressing for the cats who suffered pain before dying and the owners who have lost a much-loved pet.
"It's difficult to give owners advice about cats because unlike a dog that can be restrained in a garden, cats by their very nature are hunters. They like to roam and seek out food. I suggest that cat owners ensure their pets are well fed so they would not need to eat things they find."
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