Family's tears after beloved cats poisoned (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Family's tears after beloved cats poisoned

8:00am Friday 18th January 2013 in News By Cadisha Brown

A family from Kidderminster have spoken of their heartbreak after two of their pet cats died from poisoning within months of each other.

Suzannah Roper said she felt as if a huge part of the family had gone after her beloved felines, Sid and Stan, were killed by drinking anti-freeze – just two months apart.

The horrified mother of three first watched helplessly as eight-month-old Sid died in November, after she found him slumped against a bin outside her home, frothing at the mouth.

She then had to relive the horror when Stan, who was 18 months old, died painfully of kidney failure last Thursday morning after ingesting the liquid.

Vets confirmed that both cats died after swallowing the substance.

Mrs Roper, who still has three other cats, had bought the pets from an RSPCA shelter and now wants to warn people about the dangers of anti-freeze.

She added: “They were both young and really healthy cats.

They were both a really important part of the family.

It’s absolutely heartbreaking.

People don’t understand the damage that anti-freeze does.”

She added Stan could not walk properly when he came into the house at about 5pm on Wednesday last week and was not his usual “boisterous” self.

“We couldn’t get him to stand up on his feet,” said Mrs Roper, of Dunnington Avenue. “We brought him to the vets but he had to be put down.

“The cats were a really big part of the family. They were loved so much. The kids chose the cats with us from the RSPCA and it’s just awful.”

She said her youngest children Daisy, 11, and Poppy, 8, were too frightened to let the other pets out of the house, adding she was not sure whether the cats were poisoned deliberately or accidentally.

“They are devastated and are clinging on to the other cats that we’ve got,” she said.

Mrs Roper’s husband Richard said two other cats had died in the area after ingesting the substance.

“There’s a lot of it going around,” he said. “It was horrible to see Stan going down so quickly. He was such a big character on the street.

Everyone stroked him and loved him.”

He added: “If anyone is changing their anti-freeze they should dispose of it effectively because cats are attracted to it.”

Many animals find the taste of anti-freeze very attractive, and ingesting even the smallest amount can lead to kidney failure and death.