Probe after second Telford kitten is poisoned

Vets say eight-month-old Sam, who was owned by Megan Morris in Telford, was fed either anti-freeze or rat poison. The cat's brother Frodo, was killed in a similar attack just a month earlier.

Sam had to be put down after the latest attack of its kind in the Woodside area.

About 50 cats a month are being poisoned by anti-freeze nationally, according to the latest figures.

Many are being put down to an accident, with a number of deaths attributed to people putting anti-freeze in garden water features.

Environment Minister George Eustice has called for warnings on water fountains and ponds after telling MPs he was concerned to learn people used anti-freeze to stop them icing up in winter.

He added it may also be necessary to make clear the risks posed to pets by anti-freeze.

Conservative Mark Spencer has warned "more than a cat and a half a day" are suffering traumatic deaths as a result of anti-freeze.

Cats Protection says there have been1,197 reports of anti-freeze poisoning of cats in the country since November 2012, around 50 deaths a month.

Ethylene glycol in anti-freeze has a sweet taste to small animals but is extremely toxic when consumed in small doses and can rapidly lead to kidney failure and death, MPs were told.

Mr Spencer has asked the Government to consider making it mandatory for anti-freeze products to include Bitrex to deter cats, dogs, hedgehogs and "other small mammals in the countryside" from consuming them.

He also called for better labelling on bottles to show how toxic the product is to small animals.

Mr Eustice says people found guilty of deliberately poisoning an animal could be fined up to £20,000 and face six months in jail.

He said a bittering agent would not stop those people who want to deliberately harm animals, adding he would encourage manufactures to consider Mr Spencer's point.

The RSPCA has now launched an investigation and says it would prosecute anyone responsible for poisoning animals.

Megan said she was at work when her boyfriend called her to say he had found little Sam in a bush and he was having seizures. She told him to take Sam to the vet straight away, where he later had to be put down.

"I am absolutely devastated," the 19-year-old said. "When this happened to Frodo a few weeks ago I had Sam to help me get through it, but now he's gone and I am gutted.

"I put something on my Facebook warning people that cats are being targeted in the Woodside area, and through that I had eight people tell me they had lost a cat on Wednesday as well.

"I just hope the person or people who are doing this are caught, because they are not just stealing a car or vandalising something, they are killing people's beloved cats and causing the animals a lot of pain."

Earlier this month the Shropshire Star revealed Megan had lost her beloved kitten Frodo, after he was fed anti-freeze when she let him out the house for an hour.

"We believe the person who did this to Sam is the same person who poisoned Frodo. Because they were brothers they looked exactly the same, so we think they saw Sam and thought it was Frodo.

"They then fed Sam something stronger, as it only took four hours for it to kill him, whereas Frodo suffered overnight. It's heartbreaking. I hope the person who's done this is caught soon."

Inspector Dave McCartney, from the RSPCA, said: "This is a horrible way for any animal to die as it can take 12 hours to even notice the symptoms of anti-freeze poisoning.

If anyone has any information they should contact the RSPCA immediately. If someone is caught they could be prosecuted."

Just before Christmas four cats died after being fed anti-freeze in Oakengates.