A Warminster woman has been left with a £3,500 bill from vets after her pet cat Bud died a horribly painful death after licking an anti-freeze product containing ethylene-glycol.

Liz Gadsby says Bud died after licking the odourless, colourless, sweet-tasting viscous liquid in the street somewhere near her home.

Now the student veterinary nurse has issued a warning about the danger to pets from car accessory and other products containing ethylene-glycol.

The compound is poisonous to pets and can lead to them suffering kidney failure and horribly painful deaths.

Miss Gadsby, 24, of Ash Walk, Warminster, said: “I am absolutely devastated. I can't even begin to imagine the pain from which she was suffering. I wouldn't want to wish it on anybody."

She said Bud usually greeted her and her partner, Kyle Hartley, in the street when they came home from work.

Bud was a black and white female short hair cat aged four and a half. Miss Gadsby had owned her since was she a kitten.

She also has two other cats, Barley, three, a male ginger short hair, and Tib, five, a male domestic long hair.

She said Bud came home one night, acting like she was drunk, and her back legs were very weak.

"She attempted to jump on the sofa and couldn't get up. When she fell over, I knew something was wrong."

Miss Gadsby rushed Bud to the Harris, Hill & Gibbons veterinary practice in Trowbridge, where blood tests were done. "They came back and said it was not good news. I asked for her to be put on a vodka drip but it was too late."

Bud was referred to the Langford Vets practice near Bristol for specialist treatment. "They are brilliant and if anybody could help Bud they could."

The Langford Vets team took her in overnight and attempted peritoneal dialysis to see if they could flush out the ethylene-glycol from Buds system and stimulate her kidney function.

But at 6.30am the next morning, Miss Gadsby received a phone call saying Bud had suffered a seizure and that there was nothing more they could do.

"I gave consent for Bud to be put to sleep. It is absolutely heartbreaking," said Miss Gadsby, who works for a Melksham veterinary practice.

Bud has since been buried under an apple tree at her parents' home in Iron Acton near Bristol.

Now Miss Gadsby is distributing leaflets making her near-neighbours aware that anti-freeze and similar products are a danger to pets.

Ethylene-glycol is an organic compound mainly used for two purposes: as a raw material in the manufacture of polyester fibres and for anti-freeze formulations.

She is urging people to beware of the danger and is encouraging them to buy products containing Bitrex, which make them bitter to taste.

"She said: "It takes the sweetness away and if pets lick it, it is more likely to stop them in their tracks and do much less damage.

"I just want to warn people about the danger of ethylene-glycol and make them aware of the alternatives."

The £3,500 cost of Bud's veterinary treatment at the two practices will be met through pet insurance, Miss Gadsby said.