Warning to south Donegal pet owners as cat dies from poisoning

Animals in Need is advising Donegal pet owners to be extremely vigilant after one cat died and three others were taken ill as a result of poisoning.

All four cats from the same area of Ballintra. It is not clear if cats were the intended target, or if they ate poisoned rodents.

A spokesperson for the charity took to social media on New Year's Day to share the distressing news, saying: "We have been contacted by a distraught pet owner who lost their cat to what appeared to be poisoning last night.

"This is the fourth cat in the area, Fair Green of Ballintra, to have been exposed, but the other three cats got to the vets in time to be saved, so this is the first fatality that we know of."

According to the charity, the symptoms of poisoning are frothing at the mouth and wobbly walk before collapsing.

"Urgent vet care is essential to give the cat a chance of survival," stressed the spokesperson, who continued: "Cat poisoning can be accidental, with the poison having been laid for rodents or could be deliberately aimed at cats.

"If aimed at cats deliberately, it is often seen in areas with a large number of unneutered cats that keeps breeding and someone has enough (yet another reason to neuter). This is not an excuse, but a justification we have heard in the past.

"The cat could also have caught and eaten an allready poisoned rodent. This also happens to owls and other wildlife.

"Rodent traps are always recommended rather than poison if you have a bad rodent infestation as poisoning is cruel, and you can not control who's the victims.

"Please be vigilant around the Ballintra area."

It has been reported anecdotally that there are more rodents than usual this year, perhaps due to the mild weather. Unfortunately, this means that people may be turning to poison to control rodent numbers if traps are not proving to be adequately effective.