FEARS are growing for household pets after five cats on a small street have died from anti-freeze poisoning in recent weeks.

The animals of various ages, who lived in a small cul-de-sac in Abbey Meads, have all died of renal failure since May 18.

Two of the cats belonged to 43-year-old Heather Willis, of Gable Close. She is concerned there may be someone intentionally poisoning animals in the area after having to bury her beloved pets.

“If it was just one or two that would be different, but for five cats to come down with the same thing is too much of a coincidence,” she said.

“The first was my cat Tigger. He got a bit lethargic at first and I didn’t think anything of it. I took him to the vets because I thought it was just a viral thing. He came back home for a couple of days and there was no improvement. He was going downhill and his breathing wasn’t very good at all. He went into renal failure quite quickly and had to be put to sleep.

“Five days later my next-door neighbour’s cat came down with the very same thing. She took him to her vet to have a blood test. It came back that he had been poisoned with antifreeze, “Their cat had exactly the same symptoms as mine, lethargic and having problems breathing. Her cat died soon after and she brought him back home and buried him in the back garden.

“Another neighbour who lives three doors away from me, her cat also went into renal failure and had to be put to sleep. That was three dead in five days.

“Nothing happened then for a couple of weeks until last Monday. My cat Misty was completely fine. I went off to bed and he usually sleeps on the bed with me. I woke up in the middle of the night and he was on the bathroom floor. I picked him up and he was all limp. I rang the vet, who said it sounded like he had minutes to live. We just sat with him while he passed away.”

Twelve hours after the death of Misty, Heather heard of another cat on the street falling victim to renal failure.

“They have all died from exactly the same thing, breathing difficulties and renal failure,” she said. “Every cat has died the same way. One of them was only a year old when they found crystals in her blood. The vet has said that in the SN25 area there have been reports of 12 cases they know about.

“In my opinion people are putting antifreeze down. It is like catnip for cats, they are attracted to the taste and the smell, but it’s fatal. It could be someone feeding them.”