Feral Cat Colony Murdered with Antifreeze

Hats · 12-07-2014 8:52am #1

Whilst the rest of Dublin was moaning about the mess of Garth Brooks, one of the residents nearby Croke Park was deviously planning a way to kill the colony of feral cats that live in 4 properties on the Richmond Road in Fairview, Dublin 3.

They decided that the most effective way to achieve their aim would be by lacing some food with Antifreeze, the sweet tasting stuff that cats are attracted to, but will kill them with only one lick.

On Wednesday evening I came home to find two of the cats lethargic and acting drunk - I haven't seen Frank and Oscar again - they most definitely died a most painful death.

On Thursday evening, the friendliest feral cat (Mitzi, son of Frank) who adopted my Landlady and I, was not his usual purring and loving self, and after feeding him he threw up and was listless. I took him to the vet first thing the next morning as he had deteriorated, and I was told to call the vet at 3pm for an update. At 2:45pm the vet called me "I'm sorry, it's bad news. Mitzi passed away 3-4 minutes ago. There was nothing we could do, and we would have had to put him to sleep anyway". He was my baby boy, and I loved him. He loved me and trusted me too. His death would have been horrendously painful as the poison slowly shut down his ogans one by one. My beautiful snuggly baby boy.

I came home from work early only to find that Ben (Mitzi's mommy) was now vomiting too and had shaky back legs. We caught the terrified and pained cat and took her to the vet. She was put down to end her miserable suffering.

On return to the house my neighbours informed me that there was another cat in their neighbours garden who was shaking. I phoned the vet and they said they would wait for me even though they were closed. I picked up what was actually only a 3 month old beautiful black kitten who was so ill she couldn't even bite me. She was put to sleep too.

This colony was being managed by 4 houses who were feeding them, and getting them neutered. They were not harming anyone, but some evil person selfishly decided that they did not want them and murdered them

The deceased cats are:

Arlie
Ben
Denise
Frank
Mitzi
Oscar
Unamed Black kitten

Missing and Presumed Dead:

Graham
Jeremy
Lionel
Nigel
Patricia
Tiger Tiger

Alive and not showing signs of poisoning as of yesterday

Ronald
Ulrika
Victor
2 Kittens (Arlie was the mother)

The devastation and disbelief that this has inflicted on the 4 households is incalculable. When I don't think I have tears left, more still come out. From having a garden full of playful and loving cats, the only indication we ever had cats is the vomit left by Mitzi and Ben on my lawn.

If you live in the area, please keep an eye on your cats. If they show signs of being drunk, vomiting or shaky legs, it is probably too late for them - and you will need to take them to the vet to put them out of their suffering.

If you have issues with a cat colony, please please please do not resort to this criminal and inhumane treatment. Get in touch with the SPCA or better yet Cats Aid. There may be people trying to help them already. It is not their fault that they were born into a hard life.

Thank you for reading this

In disbelief and over-whelming sadness

Claire

dharma200 · 12-07-2014 8:54am

OMG that is disgusting. So sorry for you all. How can people be so f c n evil???!!

Zulu · 12-07-2014 8:56am

It's sickening that someone would do this, but if the feral, aren't they vermin? I wouldn't poison, but I also wouldn't be impressed living beside/near so many feral cats.

What's my point? I really wish people had the cop on to bother neuter their cats and to prevent them roaming.

toadfly · 12-07-2014 9:31am

That's horrendously sad OP.

Pumpkinseeds · 12-07-2014 10:24am

There are some very sick people around. I'm so sorry about the cats. I really wish they would ban that type of anti-freeze.

honerbright · 12-07-2014 10:39am

Zulu wrote: »

It's sickening that someone would do this, but if the feral, aren't they vermin?

Tbh there's no guarantee that only ferals ate the poisoned food. There's every chance that peoples pet cats could also have gotten ill/been killed. Which doesn't make it any worse, but I think there's only laws that cover "pet" cats, nothing regarding ferals.

This is absolutely horrific. Those poor, poor cats :-(
I hope the monster that did this is caught.

Zulu · 12-07-2014 12:59pm

honerbright wrote: »

Tbh there's no guarantee that only ferals ate the poisoned food. There's every chance that peoples pet cats could also have gotten ill/been killed.

Exactly. People need to learn that it's not ok to let their cats roam.

Pumpkinseeds · 12-07-2014 4:35pm

Zulu wrote: »

Exactly. People need to learn that it's not ok to let their cats roam.

Some people should learn to be less judgemental.

boomerang · 12-07-2014 4:56pm

No, "feral" cats are not classed as vermin. Regardless, it is against the law to lay down poison in this manner. I have seen cats dying of anti-freeze poisoning and you'd want to have a heart of stone to think it's acceptable to make any animal suffer in that way.

Zulu · 12-07-2014 6:28pm

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

Some people should learn to be less judgemental.

...and then there's those that don't care about their animals welfare or indeed their neighbours I suppose.

Capercaille · 12-07-2014 6:37pm

Poisoning of any bird/mammal is illegal except for covered rat/mice baits. Hopefully the person will be caught and severly punished.

Pumpkinseeds · 12-07-2014 7:25pm

Zulu wrote: »

...and then there's those that don't care about their animals welfare or indeed their neighbours I suppose.

It looks as if you've come here with an axe to grind, which considering the nature of this thread is downright inappropriate. You clearly have no idea what you're talking about so I suggest you just toddle off to another thread, as you can see your posts aren't appreciated here.

col.in.Cr · 12-07-2014 7:27pm

Hats wrote: »

Whilst the rest of Dublin was moaning about the mess of Garth Brooks, one of the residents nearby Croke Park was deviously planning a way to kill the colony of feral cats that live in 4 properties on the Richmond Road in Fairview, Dublin 3.

They decided that the most effective way to achieve their aim would be by lacing some food with Antifreeze, the sweet tasting stuff that cats are attracted to, but will kill them with only one lick.

On Wednesday evening I came home to find two of the cats lethargic and acting drunk - I haven't seen Frank and Oscar again - they most definitely died a most painful death.

On Thursday evening, the friendliest feral cat (Mitzi, son of Frank) who adopted my Landlady and I, was not his usual purring and loving self, and after feeding him he threw up and was listless. I took him to the vet first thing the next morning as he had deteriorated, and I was told to call the vet at 3pm for an update. At 2:45pm the vet called me "I'm sorry, it's bad news. Mitzi passed away 3-4 minutes ago. There was nothing we could do, and we would have had to put him to sleep anyway". He was my baby boy, and I loved him. He loved me and trusted me too. His death would have been horrendously painful as the poison slowly shut down his ogans one by one. My beautiful snuggly baby boy.

I came home from work early only to find that Ben (Mitzi's mommy) was now vomiting too and had shaky back legs. We caught the terrified and pained cat and took her to the vet. She was put down to end her miserable suffering.

On return to the house my neighbours informed me that there was another cat in their neighbours garden who was shaking. I phoned the vet and they said they would wait for me even though they were closed. I picked up what was actually only a 3 month old beautiful black kitten who was so ill she couldn't even bite me. She was put to sleep too.

This colony was being managed by 4 houses who were feeding them, and getting them neutered. They were not harming anyone, but some evil person selfishly decided that they did not want them and murdered them

The deceased cats are:

Arlie
Ben
Denise
Frank
Mitzi
Oscar
Unamed Black kitten

Missing and Presumed Dead:

Graham
Jeremy
Lionel
Nigel
Patricia
Tiger Tiger

Alive and not showing signs of poisoning as of yesterday

Ronald
Ulrika
Victor
2 Kittens (Arlie was the mother)

The devastation and disbelief that this has inflicted on the 4 households is incalculable. When I don't think I have tears left, more still come out. From having a garden full of playful and loving cats, the only indication we ever had cats is the vomit left by Mitzi and Ben on my lawn.

If you live in the area, please keep an eye on your cats. If they show signs of being drunk, vomiting or shaky legs, it is probably too late for them - and you will need to take them to the vet to put them out of their suffering.

If you have issues with a cat colony, please please please do not resort to this criminal and inhumane treatment. Get in touch with the SPCA or better yet Cats Aid. There may be people trying to help them already. It is not their fault that they were born into a hard life.

Thank you for reading this

In disbelief and over-whelming sadness

Claire

oh shut the fck up,there is babies in Gaza being bombed

Mod note: User banned permanently.
Do not, ever, come into this forum and abuse the users, nor belittle animal welfare issues. It's the ANIMALS AND PETS ISSUES forum. The hint is in the name.
Thanks,
DBB

tk123 · 12-07-2014 7:28pm

Can't believe somebody would be so cruel. I live down the road from you off botanic ave so will make sure to tell anyone I know with has cats about this.

Lisha · 12-07-2014 7:31pm

col.in.Cr wrote: »

oh shut the fck up,there is babies in Gaza being bombed

And what are you doing to help prevent and stop the atrocities in Gaza?

Capercaille · 12-07-2014 7:34pm

col.in.Cr wrote: »

oh shut the fck up,there is babies in Gaza being bombed

What has that got to do with it? Feck all

magentis · 12-07-2014 7:36pm

boomerang wrote: »

No, "feral" cats are not classed as vermin. Regardless, it is against the law to lay down poison in this manner. I have seen cats dying of anti-freeze poisoning and you'd want to have a heart of stone to think it's acceptable to make any animal suffer in that way.

They should be classed as vermin,
they do untold damage to other peoples property.

DBB · 12-07-2014 7:40pm

Pumpkinseeds wrote: »

It looks as if you've come here with an axe to grind, which considering the nature of this thread is downright inappropriate. You clearly have no idea what you're talking about so I suggest you just toddle off to another thread, as you can see your posts aren't appreciated here.

Pumpkinseeds, telling someone to go post somewhere else is back-seat moderating, and it is not on for users to speak to one another like this. If you had a problem with any posts, you should have reported them.
Zulu, by the same token, please stop prodding at people here.
Thanks,
DBB

DBB · 12-07-2014 7:47pm

magentis wrote: »

They should be classed as vermin,
they do untold damage to other peoples property.

Nope, you're not going down this road in this thread, nor in this forum.

I must repeat myself once again: this is the ANIMALS AND PETS ISSUES forum. If you want to go off on one about how a certain pet species annoys you, go to another forum.

Magentis, do not post in this thread again, and don't post again in the forum until you can appreciate what this forum is about.

Thanks,
DBB

DBB · 12-07-2014 7:50pm

After a temporary closure to sort out the utter crap being spewed by some in this thread, the thread is now re-opened.
There is to be NO discussion about cats being vermin, or about owner responsibility, or about the Gaza Strip... sheesh. That's all for another thread, which will probably end up being shut down anyway.
This thread is about cats that have been deliberately poisoned. That is the topic, let's stay on it from this point on.
Any divergence from the topic will result in an immediate ban.
Do not reply to this post on thread.
Thanks,
DBB

Kablamo! · 12-07-2014 8:04pm

I'm really sorry for your loss Claire. I can't understand how people can be so cruel and callous. Hopefully your other cats stay safe.
I've nothing helpful to add, just wanted to sympathise. It's my worst nightmare.

Zulu · 12-07-2014 8:21pm

Apologies DBB. Didn't mean to prod.

Zulu · 12-07-2014 8:23pm

... Sorry, and apologies ALL.

Whispered · 12-07-2014 8:33pm

That's awful.

deise08 · 12-07-2014 9:56pm

I am so sorry Claire for what has happened to those poor little creatures.
It is no consolation,but take comfort that you and your neighbours showed them love and kindness. what an awful and cruel act to inflict on any animal.
We had similar in our area a few years ago, semi feral and pet cats, no discrimination. one had his whole body burned by some acid that had been thrown on him. It took me 3 days to be able to confine him and bring him to the vet. God I'll never forget the smell. One of our girls disappeared for two days and when she returned was covered in something. She had to be put down by the vet because she had ingested it. another cat we found,when an autopsy was done, was found to have been poisoned by strychnine.

This is a serious issue that really needs to be highlighted in the media. I contacted our local 'Joe Duffy' and also the local papers. Once the picture of the burned cat and the street were named it stopped over night.
The culprit was never found though.
My sympathies to you.

I am really sorry that this was visited on you and I pray that they catch the individual and those poor animals get justice.

Tranceypoo · 13-07-2014 2:00pm

deise08 wrote: »

I am so sorry Claire for what has happened to those poor little creatures.
It is no consolation,but take comfort that you and your neighbours showed them love and kindness. what an awful and cruel act to inflict on any animal.
We had similar in our area a few years ago, semi feral and pet cats, no discrimination. one had his whole body burned by some acid that had been thrown on him. It took me 3 days to be able to confine him and bring him to the vet. God I'll never forget the smell. One of our girls disappeared for two days and when she returned was covered in something. She had to be put down by the vet because she had ingested it. another cat we found,when an autopsy was done, was found to have been poisoned by strychnine.

This is a serious issue that really needs to be highlighted in the media. I contacted our local 'Joe Duffy' and also the local papers. Once the picture of the burned cat and the street were named it stopped over night.
The culprit was never found though.
My sympathies to you. I am really sorry that this was visited on you and I pray that they catch the individual and those poor animals get justice.

Actually just saw the story on my Yahoo news feed so it's getting coverage which is great, what a horrible horrible thing to happen I cannot imagine the poor cats suffering

sillysmiles · 14-07-2014 8:00am

There has to be something seriously psychologically wrong with anyone who thinks this is a way to deal with this. From what I read in the paper the people looking after them were working on getting them neutered and homed.

Slunk · 14-07-2014 9:51am

Seen this on one of the news sites this morning. I really hope they catch whoever done this but I don't have much hope.
There is a group of five or six cats/kittens i pass on a street off manor street everyday. They are feral cats but I think a few residents leave food out for them. They are very cautious and I try stay well clear when passing as not to scare then but they still brighten up my morning when I pass. Couldn't imagine anyone wanting to harm the little fellas hoping and skipping around the lane.

14-07-2014 11:34am

sillysmiles wrote: »

There has to be something seriously psychologically wrong with anyone who thinks this is a way to deal with this. From what I read in the paper the people looking after them were working on getting them neutered and homed.

From what have heard, the person who did this has actually boasted about it to other neighbors.
I know another person who did this as they classed cats as vermin now they are inundated with Rats and mice.

NickyL · 14-07-2014 11:51am

So sorry to hear this. Poor creatures.
One of the feral colonies that I mind (all cats had been neutered and were healthy) was poisoned a few years ago. I'll never forget finding some of them still alive and suffering. I can't fathom how someone could do this.

sillysmiles · 14-07-2014 12:28pm

Deleted User wrote: »

From what have heard, the person who did this has actually boasted about it to other neighbors.

Can they be prosecuted?

14-07-2014 12:45pm

There are a few legal factors to look at.

If the cats were pets, able to produce paperwork from the Vets etc ...

Did the cats suffer. Again the vets would need to be called.

Proof that this person actually did it.

Even if you have a confession, they might look at how much this will cost the state in court cases.

sillysmiles · 14-07-2014 1:25pm

Ok, can I ask, is this something that the garda investigate or as feral animals do they fall into a legal no-mans-land?

deise08 · 14-07-2014 1:32pm

When it happened here, it was the I.s.p.c.a. but the culprit was never found. They damage was already done though.

aaakev · 14-07-2014 4:56pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

There are a few legal factors to look at.

If the cats were pets, able to produce paperwork from the Vets etc ...

Did the cats suffer. Again the vets would need to be called.

Proof that this person actually did it.

Even if you have a confession, they might look at how much this will cost the state in court cases.

sillysmiles wrote: »

Ok, can I ask, is this something that the garda investigate or as feral animals do they fall into a legal no-mans-land?

It doesn't matter one bit if they were pets or strays. The use of poison on anything other than rats or mice is illegal. Yes they can be prosecuted if there is enough evidence but someone saying they were told it was such and such will not be enough.

Teyla Emmagan · 14-07-2014 5:03pm

I am so sorry OP. What a horrific thing for anyone to have done. So horrible to poison a trusting animal through its food. People can do unspeakable things. Those poor cats :-(

kiffer · 14-07-2014 6:01pm

Just horrible... horrible horrible people.
Pointless petty cruelty.

boomerang · 15-07-2014 12:20am

There is a €5,000 fine but the problem is being able to prove the culprit did it.

amcm81 · 04-08-2014 10:10pm

Hi. My pet cat only 2 years old was found mysteriously dead 2 weeks ago. I have only found this thread now as a friend pointed it out. I am in the same area and believe he was poisoned too. I am devestated and disgusted that someone could do this. Pet or ferel, I dont understand how people can kill animals and why they feel cats are disposable. Very angry and frustrated that nothing can be done.

DBB · 04-08-2014 11:06pm

Really sorry to hear that acmc81, it is seriously frustrating alright that such a cruel and vandalous act will probably go unpunished :mad:

sparkle_23 · 05-08-2014 4:14am

It's disgusting, if people are capable of doing this to innocent cats what else could they do? Such a horrible thing to happen, so sad

agent graves · 05-08-2014 7:33am

it is horrible for any animals to be poisoned. but do they know for definite it was people doing this on purpose. .. could it not have leaked out of a near by garage?
t

PeteFalk78 · 05-08-2014 8:11am

Were these feral cats spayed?

The average number of litters a fertile cat can produce in one year is 3.

The average number of kittens in a feline litter is 4–6.

In seven years, one female cat and her offspring can theoretically produce 420,000 cats.

If the cats were captured and humanely killed then would there be such a outrage? Serious question.

Zulu · 05-08-2014 8:16am

I'd sincerely doubt it; you don't see similar threads about veterinary practices or whathaveyou.

Mountainsandh · 05-08-2014 8:54am

PeteFalk78 wrote: »

Were these feral cats spayed?

The average number of litters a fertile cat can produce in one year is 3.

The average number of kittens in a feline litter is 4–6.

In seven years, one female cat and her offspring can theoretically produce 420,000 cats.

If the cats were captured and humanely killed then would there be such a outrage? Serious question.

There's no excuse though. As mentioned earlier in the thread, the spaying/neutering was in process.
There's just no excuse for someone deciding to take the matter in their own hands, at serious risk to people's pets, and possibly children, etc...

I think the trap-neuter/spay-release schemes are pretty well advertised in every part of the country in fairness, maybe there's room for more publishing, so even non-pet owners know about what's going on, but there are articles, posters, and rescues try their best to encourage the schemes.

I'm rural but for example, a friend of mine who does not own pets and has no interest showed awareness of the scheme when he had a feral cats problem a while ago, in a very rural area.
It was all pretty easy and simple.
He decided to do the catching himself, someone easily contacted dropped cages at his place, he was assisted when it came to bringing them to the vets, and did not have to pay.

It's that simple.
No big hassle, no poison needed.
Fair play to rescues and vets who are offering that service, and who are the ones gathering funds to do it.

PeteFalk78 · 05-08-2014 8:59am

Mountainsandh wrote: »

. As mentioned earlier in the thread, the spaying/neutering was in process.

Apologies....missed that

Sam Mac · 05-08-2014 12:28pm

So sorry to hear this. So cruel. Can't even imagine the amount of pain these cats were in as they were being (very slowly, and painfully) poisoned. Its horrific to think people would even think of doing such a thing. I hope the person responsible is caught.

Feral Cat Colony Murdered with Antifreeze

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