A devastated pet owner has issued a warning after two young cats from the same part of South Ashford died from poisoning.

Hannah Law said at first her cat Petal's lost her appetite for a couple of days and when her condition deteriorated, she took her straight to Cinque Port Vets in Kingsnorth.

Veterinary nurses at the surgery discovered five-year-old Petal had been poisoned and sadly, just three days later, she was dead.

Another cat from the Whitfield Road area had been fatally poisoned and had died the same day.

Hannah said: "At first Petal wasn't really eating for a couple of days so I kept her in.

"After a couple of days she became very slow and wobbly when walking

"Then she had burst blood vessels in her ears and couldn’t control her bowel/bladder so I took her straight to the vet.

“I had absolutely no idea she had been poisoned, it wasn’t until the vet assessed her and said she believed it was a poisoning that it all clicked.

“I had to have her put to sleep because she couldn’t breathe properly, it was heartbreaking.

“Poor little thing, she was still very young.

“I would warn any pet owners who notice any of the signs Petal had to get them straight to a vet.”

Vet Sharon Marsh urged pet owners to be careful but stressed there is no evidence the incidents were suspicious.

She initially suspected the cause to be rat bait poison, but was unable to determine the exact poison.

She said: “To have two cats poisoned on the same day, in the same road is extremely rare and of course worrying.

“But there is no evidence to suggest it is malicious and it could just be an unfortunate accident.

“Thankfully we’ve not had any cases since.

“We are encouraging owners to be extra vigilant especially if they live in the area and contact their vet immediately if they are concerned about their pet.”

A police spokesman reiterated the warning about the potentially fatal danger of mouse and rat bait poisoning to pets and urged people using bait to be extremely careful.

He also added: “Although there is currently no evidence to suggest that these cats were deliberately poisoned, such allegations are taken seriously and would be treated as a criminal offence.”

• For more information on poison effects and symptoms on pets, visit cinqueportsvets.co.uk/information/info_dogs_poisons.