Cat owners on high alert after poison fears

AN ANIMAL welfare charity have warned pet owners to be vigilant after the suspected poisoning of cats in Formby. Freshfield Animal Rescue Centre have revealed they have witnessed a spike in suspicious cat deaths in the area and believe most cases are down to poisoning. The charity stressed the deaths could have been accidental but say they want to prevent further incidents. Wendy Bushnell of Formby claimed her cat, Charlie, died after it was deliberately poisoned. Wendy said: “I had heard a lot about cats being poisoned and abducted in Birkdale, and I believe the same thing happened to our cat Charlie. ”It was about 5am and I had just fed Charlie and he was insisting to be let out. “He is a feral cat so he loves being outside. I had just gone to bed when I heard a man shouting outside and the sound of an animal crying. ”I instantly thought I hope that wasn't Charlie and when I looked out the window I saw a car screeching away. “We never saw Charlie after that. ”The next day someone found him near Lifeboat Road, which is miles away from our house. “He was taken to the vets who told us that he was in such a bad state that they didn't think it was appropriate for us to see him like that. ”The vet said she believed he was ran over and that was what killed him but she also carried out tests for poisoning and found traces of it in his system. “I have since spoken to other cat owners in the area and they have shared similar stories.” Wendy is appealing to anyone who has experienced the same thing to get in touch, so she can pass the details on to the police, who have confirmed if they receive enough reports they can launch an investigation. Wendy added: “We have reported the incident to the police and they have said that if we could collect a list of names and addresses for people who have had their cats killed, they will chase it up and investigate. ”I am totally devastated, this will haunt me for the rest of my life because I will never know what actually happened to Charlie. “Something needs to be done to stop these people from hurting out pets. People are so scared to even let their cats out of their homes, its so frightening. ”For whatever reason people are doing this, it needs to be stopped and dealt with so other cats aren't at risk.“ Freshfield Animal Rescue Centre said in a statement: ”We just want to warn people in the area and urge cat owners to be vigilant. This could have been accidental, but we want to prevent further incidents in the future.“