A distraught cat owner has warned of the dangers of antifreeze after her pet died just hours after being poisoned.

Newham Recorder: Tux the catTux the cat (Image: Sue Francis)

Sue Francis, of Russell Road, Custom House, took her three-year-old cat, Tux, to the PDSA clinic in Bow after he started vomiting on January 30.

He was transferred to Woodford hospital but had to be put down after suffering organ failure.

“We’re all heartbroken - it all happened so quickly,” Sue said.

“I took him in at 1pm and by 6pm they were calling me to say he needed to be put down.

“One of my daughters didn’t even know he was ill.”

Sue says she did not know whether someone had poisoned Tux deliberately or whether he had ingested the antifreeze by accident.

She said: “It tastes sweet to cats and dogs.

“I’ve heard stories from other areas of people putting antifreeze in a bowl and leaving it out for cats.

“I called Celia Hammond [Animal Trust] to let them know what happened in case they get other cats brought in with the same thing.”

Sue has also put up posters warning other cat owners of the dangers of antifreeze and the symptoms, including vomiting, fitting and excessive thirst.

She and her three children, aged 14, 24 and 25, were all close to Tux, who they adopted after a stray cat that her friend was feeding gave birth.

Since his death, she has not let her other cat, Molly, out of the house.

“We’ve boarded up the cat flap,” she said.

“We’re going to build something in the garden so she can go outside but still be safe.”