Cat owner 'devastated' after double antifreeze poisoning

Lola died in July, after coming home acting scared and refusing food

A woman is looking for answers following the death of two of her cats after they ingested antifreeze.

Natalie Gribble, from Tuffley in Gloucester, had Lola put down on 31 July due to kidney failure brought on by the poisoning, with Travis being put down in similar circumstances on 14 August.

The death of Ms Gribble's cats followed reports of dogs falling ill in the Cleevelands Estate area of Bishops Cleeve.

Gloucestershire Police has asked with those with information to report it as they make enquiries.

Kidney failure

Ms Gribble's cat Lola was late home for dinner one night, eventually turning up after 45 minutes but acting "really out of character".

Initially, vets thought Lola had injured her leg, but after trying several painkillers and cage rest, found something still was not right.

On the evening of 31 July, Lola "really started to deteriorate".

Blood tests revealed Lola was in end stage kidney failure and tests on her urine revealed the presence of crystals, confirming antifreeze poisoning.

'Devastating'

Ms Gribble said she was told the only things that could cause "that level of damage" were lilies and antifreeze, but an "enormous amount" of flowers would have to be consumed.

"It was devastating, we had to make the decision to put her to sleep because she would not have made it through the night," Ms Gribble said.

Ms Gribble went through heartbreak again a few weeks later, when another of her cats Travis, four, went off his food, became lethargic, and would not stop drinking.

Vets found he also had kidney failure, with the family making the decision to have him put down on 14 August.

After Travis' (pictured) death, Ms Gribble has been keeping her other three cats indoors as she explores other options

Ms Gribble is concerned her cats may have been deliberately poisoned, due to the timescale.

Antifreeze is also found in engine coolant and screenwash, with its sweet smell thought to lure cats in.

"I'm really struggling to get my head around it to be honest, because not only were they amazing cats, they were our family," Ms Gribble said.

"I understand people not liking cats, but to to hate them that much to want to cause actual harm completely blows my mind."

A spokesperson from Gloucestershire Police said they had "received a report that two cats had to be put down after becoming ill in the Tuffley area of Gloucester."

"A resident of Sapphire Close reported that two of their cats were taken to the vets and put down over recent months.

"The owner believes that their cats may have ingested poison.

"Enquires are ongoing to establish what happened and anyone with information is asked to get in contact by completing the following online form and quoting incident 74 of 15 August."