Eighteen cats in one town have died after being poisoned with anti-freeze – triggering a warning to owners to keep their pets indoors.
There are fears they are being targeted by an animal-hating maniac.
Seven from neighbouring terraced houses in one street in Bridgwater, Somerset, have died in the last week alone. It follows a spate of 11 deaths four months ago, two miles away.
Jan Summers, 52, whose two-year-old cat Pixie was killed a week ago, said: 'I cradled Pixie in my arms as she was in agony and life slowly drained from her.
'I have lost my little princess. A cat is part of the family and we are all devastated, it's absolutely soul destroying to lose them.
'It's tragic what's happening. My next door neighbours on either side of me also have had their cats poisoned.
'It's been suggested that it is a sicko or psychopath who is doing it because anti-freeze is not the type of thing to have in your garden.
'It's too much of a coincidence that all the cats have been drinking from the same container.'
Post mortem examinations by vet Kate Bartels, of Castle Veterinary Surgery, show that ethylene glycol found in the anti-freeze has caused the deaths after crystals formed on the kidney leading to renal failure.
After ingesting only two teaspoons of the liquid, cats have between one and three hours to receive treatment.
Without it they become thirsty, lethargic and unsteady, and begin vomiting and shaking, before collapsing.
The vet said: 'The deaths are rising and to have this many in one area is extremely unusual.
'Anti-freeze is very sweet and palatable to cats and young children so if somebody malicious was feeding it to them they would happily lap it up.
'It's very difficult to keep cats indoors but at this moment I would suggest that cat owners in the area keep their pets indoors until the matter is resolved.'
The previous spate of killings in April were in the Bower Manor area of Bridgwater, around two miles from the recent poisonings.
It is not clear whether the two outbreaks are related or whether the recent string of killings are 'copy cat' incidents.
It is understood that none of the residents has complained about the cat deaths to the police, but the RSPCA have carried out door-to-door enquiries.
Anne Glover, Chairman of Bath Road Local Action Team, said: 'Cat owners in the area are gripped by fear.
'They are afraid to let their cats out at night but unfortunately they are the kind of animals that need to get out and about.
'It's disgusting to think that anybody would want to kill a cat even if they do not like them.
'We're a very intimate community and it's left a dark cloud over us. We're in a state of shock and mourning.'
RSPCA spokesman Jo Barr said: 'The worst case scenario is that someone is deliberately targeting the animals in this horrendous way and the fact that this number of cats have now been affected is extremely worrying.
'We can't say for certain that it is deliberate and it could be that someone has been working on a car nearby and anti-freeze has escaped.'
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