Natasha Hardman’s two healthy kittens, Narla and Cash, were found dead within 24 hours of each other in the back garden of her home in Wilberfoss, near York, on June 27, 2022. Another of the pet owner’s cats, Lily, died under mysterious circumstances earlier this year, in January.
Following the death of the two healthy kittens in the village on June 27, The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals inspector Beth Boyd and her team issued a public service announcement after discovering other animals in danger of the same fate.
Natasha took to Facebook to warn other local cat owners that a “sick individual” is allegedly “putting poison out on Hawthorn Drive/John Bell Court” and that cats are literally dropping dead. Police and the RSPCA are now involved.” She added in her post, “If you have had a cat poisoned in the last year, please contact me so I can provide you with the crime number. The more owners that report this the better the investigation. I have lost two in two days!”
According to Inspector Boyd, “these incidents appear to have been going on for a long time, but there appears to be a spike in them at the moment.” Inspector Boyd said it was horrifying that young, healthy cats were dying in their own gardens.
“In the 11 years I’ve lived here, around 15 cats have died without explanation,” the bereaved cat owner explained. She later revealed that she found her cats’ mother walking in front of her house with a piece of meat covered in a mysterious blue powder that is now suspected to be rat poison.
“One neighbor says she has lost three cats in the last two years – one was never found and the other two turned up dead in her garden,” Boyd continued.
Furthermore, and perhaps more disturbingly, another woman told investigators that not only did six of her own cats turn up suspiciously dead in the span of “20 years,” but she also recalls a dozen cats dying suspiciously over a two-week period roughly four years ago.
Boyd concluded that, “while it is unknown whether someone’s routine use of rat poison is unintentionally harming local pets, someone appears to be targeting cats in this part of the village. Many healthy cats have been discovered dead in their own gardens, with no visible injuries.”
Cat owners in the area have since been urged to watch for signs of poisoning in their pets, such as difficulty breathing, seizures, and vomiting. The RSPCA advises pet owners to watch for symptoms of poisoning such as vomiting, uncoordinated movements, seizures, and breathing difficulties.
Feral cats needs to be controlled. I counted over 25 cats hanging out at one time, other times was 12-15 cats. Animal control are short staff and cannot handle the influx population of feral cats. They eats and breeds like rabbits. We made aware by handling out flyers telling everyone not to feed these strayed cats, which will worsen the situation. Many cats lovers would not listen and continue contributing to the long on going problem in my neighborhood. So we trapped them and released them in the desert, 10 or more miles away from the nearest town. It gotten better but I still sees 6-7 cats but the population of feral cats reduced as we continue to trap these cats. I totally disagreed on poisoning cats deliberately out of hatred, and it’s wrong. But 12 years and 15 cats died hardly a story to tell.
another reason to keep your cats inside, in this crazy world we live in.