Cat owners in the College Road area of Trowbridge are warning people to be careful with antifreeze –after one resident was forced to put down two of her cats in two days when they became ill.

Min Griffiths, of Laburnum Grove, rushed her four-year-old cat Harmann to the vet last Thursday, after she found him foaming at the mouth and unstable on his legs.

The popular cat, who was nicknamed The Mayor of Laburnum Grove by residents, was made comfortable overnight, but was put down on Friday, after vets at Harris Hill and Gibbons Veterinary Surgery told her he had suffered incurable poisoning and no more could be done.

She was faced with the same dreadful scenario when she returned from the vet and discovered her 16-year-old cat Fudge was also suffering. Fudge was put down on Saturday.

Mrs Griffiths, who has two other cats, one of which, Jessie, is Fudge’s daughter. She said: “They both had similar symptoms and were foaming at the mouth. In the end, they were in so much pain that the only option was to put them down.

“It appears to just be an awful coincidence at the moment, but the vets seem to be confident that they were both poisoned by antifreeze. To have to put down two cats in two days was just terrible.

“Harmann used to follow me everywhere and was loved by the neighbours, who would call him The Mayor of Laburnum Grove as he was 21Ib and would walk along with his head held high.”

Mrs Griffith’s neighbour Jayne Fry, who also has three cats, said another resident in the College Road area was also forced to put down her cat on Monday after it suffered similar symptoms.

She said: “We are absolutely devastated and everyone in the area is concerned. People are keeping their cats on lockdown and we just want to make others aware, so they are careful with antifreeze.

“I don’t think some people realise how dangerous antifreeze is to cats. It could just be a spillage or perhaps someone is using it in a water feature, but this has been quite a shock.”

Cats are attracted to the taste and smell of anti-freeze, with just two teaspoons of the liquid – which contains lethal ethylene glycol – enough to kill a cat unless treatment is sought within 60 minutes. 

PCSO Laura Humphries, from Trowbridge police, said: “We don’t think it is malicious at the moment as it does happen at this time of year.

“We have carried out door to door patrols just to make sure people are being safe and not leaving antifreeze out.”