Cats die after anti-freeze poisoning

Mar 5 2010 Perthshire Advertiser Friday

A CRUEL killer who poisoned two family cats in Perth with anti-freeze faces up to six months in jail if caught.

Despite the best efforts of vets, 11-year-old siblings Kira and Jads died this week as a result of kidney failure after ingesting the toxic compound in the Fair City’s North Muirton district.

Choking back tears, IT consultant Jim Davidson said Jads had died in his arms and that his family was completely devastated by what they suspected was “malicious poisoning”.

“Obviously we can’t prove it and don’t have any suspects, but there’s a lot of cats around here and ours are the only ones affected,” he told the PA yesterday.

After Mr Davidson contacted police and local vets to see if any other cats had been poisoned, an SSPCA officer scouted around the Colonsay Street area for discarded anti-freeze containers.

“Cats are attracted to the sweet scent and taste of anti-freeze, so we thought perhaps someone had dumped a container nearby and our cats had found it, but the SSPCA guy couldn’t find anything,” he said.

Tayside Police wildlife crime officer Alan Stewart stressed that offenders could be jailed for six months under the 2006 Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act.

“Anti-freeze is a fairly common method for killing cats but fortunately it’s not a something we see much of in Perthshire, although Scotland-wide it’s a different story,” he said.

Mr Davidson said when Kira started vomiting on Sunday, he and wife Grace thought it was a stomach bug, but once the feline started staggering around as if drunk, they rushed her to Fair City Vets.

“The vet said it wasn’t a stroke and something was affecting her nervous system, so he put her on anti-inflammatories and kept her in overnight,” he said.

“She died at 6am next morning. I was obviously very upset and my family were in bits, especially my kids who grew up with Kira.”

On Monday night, Jads got sick and was taken to the vet who diagnosed kidney failure due to ingestion of anti-freeze.

Mr Davidson’s other cats, Bramble and Tealc, were examined and found to be fine.

But on Thursday, vet Andrew Humphries called to say Jads was not going to pull through and should be put down.

“I tried a fairly intensive treatment, intravenous fluids to flush the kidneys and drugs to support kidney function, but it’s not an easy one to treat I’m afraid,” he said.

“If anyone suspects their pet has ingested anti-freeze, it’s critical they seek veterinary attention immediately.”

Mr Davidson, who faces a hefty vet bill, said the cats’ deaths were “like losing part of the family”.

“Someone might have a problem with me or my family, but my door was always open,” he said.

“There was no need to take it out on innocent and defenceless creatures.”