Alert after antifreeze kills cats

A West Sussex cat lover has warned other owners to be vigilant after two of her pets died from suspected antifreeze poisoning.

Dorothy Hatswell, of Squires Close, Crawley Down, lost two cats within 10 days - then discovered a neighbour's cat had also died.

"We had a post-mortem on our second cat and that one had definitely been drinking antifreeze," she said.

"The symptoms were so similar, we can only conclude the first had as well."

She took her cats to East Grinstead Veterinary Hospital, where they had to be put down because of multiple organ failure.

Sweet taste

"All their systems had shut down and there was nothing they could do," she said.

"It was very, very sudden - it happened within 24 hours."

Mrs Hatswell said the vet told her cats were attracted to antifreeze because it has a sweet taste and smell.

She said she did not know where the antifreeze came from.

"My theory is that somebody had a leaking bottle of it and the cats licked that.

"I would like to warn people to look out for their cats and to look in sheds and garages to see if they are the source of it," Mrs Hatswell said.

Vet Richard Cunnington, from the veterinary hospital, said antifreeze was also dangerous to dogs, but cats were particularly vulnerable to even small amounts.

"They do drink it if they find it - even a cat walking through it and licking it off its paws could be enough," he said.