A PET lover is urging others to be on the lookout for signs of poisoning after all four of her cats tragically died on the same day.

Sam Cook, of Pitts Avenue in Witham, said she and her family were left heartbroken when their three tabbies Colin, Chunk and Bob, along with their part-ragdoll Trevor, were sadly put down.

Vets believe the cats fell ill after eating antifreeze on August 12 and are running tests to see if poison was involved.

Sam, a care home worker, was on a Sunday shift when she first heard they were in distress.

She said: “I got a text whilst I was at work from my daughter telling me Chunk was acting a bit funny, like she was a bit drunk.

“I thought it was a stroke. I got home and Colin started doing it as well. She came up to greet me as she always does. I thought, ‘Two cats doing it?’

“I took them to the out-of-hours vets that night. They told me they had toxins in their bodies. Their kidney markers had doubled. They were put down at about 7.30am.”

Sam said Chunk brought up tuna while at the vets which smelled sweet, suggesting she had consumed a chemical like antifreeze.

She said: “I then got home and saw Trevor was doing the same thing. I took him to my regular vet. The vet found his kidney markers were slightly elevated too.”

Sadly, both Trevor and Bob also died on the Monday night.

Sam added: “My children are devastated, absolutely devastated, as am I.”

Sam said she wants to share her story to make sure other pet owners can recognise the warning signs and act fast. “I want people to know the signs of it,” she said.

“It wasn’t blatant, it wasn’t in-your-face. You have to know your cats, I think, to know the signs.

“They’re just less aware, slightly slower, slightly wobblier on their back legs. If it was one cat, I wouldn’t have thought it was anything, but it was two.”

Sam said her advice to anyone whose cats were in that situation was simple: “Just rush them to the vets straight away.

“Keep a look out, be aware. The vet said after ingestion you’ve got about an hour.

“I seriously thought the other two were OK. Bob and Trevor are both boys so it might have taken longer for them.”

Sam said she wanted to thank Vets Now and Brookend Clinic for their efforts.

“I am so so grateful to them both,” she said. “They went above and beyond to save my cats.”