A St Franics Bay resident is in a state of shock after her cat suffered a violent death on Tuesday morning - apparently by poisoning.
Santareme Resident Michelle Fick says she was awoken by her dog barking at around 5 am and went downstairs to find her cat convulsing and foaming at the mouth.
Fick says she rushed her cat to her local vet, Narene Botha, but that he was pronounced dead within a matter of minutes.
Fick told AlgoaFM News she contacted the police after she was advised by her vet that her cat had been killed by a deadly poison known as two-step. "Narene told me it was the same poison they'd found in Jeffrey's Bay recently where as many as 30 dogs had been poisoned, of which 17 had passed away. She immediately told me the poison is called Two Step and is known to be used by house breakers to incapacitate animals."
Police spokesperson Gerda Swart confirmed that they were aware of the incident. She said no criminal cases had been opened, however, where the Two Step poison could be linked to incidents of house breaking.
Fick said the police had been extremely helpful in dealing with her incident and had also taken a statement from the vet. "Most important thing for me is to warn everybody. If you see your animal drooling or convulsing rush it to the vet as fast as you can because this thing is so quick. I'm heartbroken. My cat Klein Mannetjie was dead within seven minutes."
The SPCA at Jeffrey's Bay says it is aware of the incidents of dogs being poisoned at the town and is investigating the matter. The organisation says, however, that its very difficult to get to the root-cause of the problem when cases are not opened with the police.
