Cat poisoner strikes again as 10th pet is critically ill

A tenth cat is critically ill after being struck down by antifreeze poisoning in a neighbourhood plagued by pet deaths.

Two of Catherine Cooper’s cats were killed when they consumed the chemical and a third has been left on a drip after kidney failure.

When the 42-year-old warned neighbours of the deaths she found out at least seven other cats had been killed in the Heath Road area of Coxheath.

She said: “I don’t know who is doing it but I am pretty sure it is malicious because of the frequency and the small area it is happening in.

“All of the cats poisoned are exhibiting the same sort of symptoms caused by anti-freeze poisoning. They look like they are drunk and are staggering around..

“I have my second cat in the space of four months on a drip at the vets.”

Eleven-month-old Sandy is at the Coxheath Vets being treated for kidney failure while his brother Jack became a victim of the antifreeze cat killer in December.

Mrs Cooper contacted police and revealed the spate of poisonings is being treated as a crime.

The mother-of-two said: “My kids have lost three cats in a year. The house behind us has lost two in less than a year and the house opposite lost a cat.

Her first cat, Ollie, jumped down from a table and his legs gave way behind him. He died in August at the age of six. It was not a confirmed poisoning, but their was no trauma.

“Jack was only six months old and had only started going out so I knew he wouldn’t have wandered far.

“He was poisoned on Christmas Eve and we had to have him put down on Christmas night.”

Mrs Cooper had hoped her two children Jemimah, six, and James, eight, would grow up with Sandy and Jack. Instead the family have been advised by the vet to keep their older cats indoors for their own safety.

She said: “Afterwards we dropped letters round to the neighbours to explain what had happened and asked people to be vigilant.

“We found out there were several other cats that suffered the same fate. I also contacted the police and they said they would raise it as a crime.

“We took him to the vets on Friday evening because he was lethargic and then we took him back again on Tuesday morning where they did tests and they said his kidney function was off the scale.”