Rustington schoolboy devastated by much-loved cat’s poisoning

Adam Oxley, 10, was left in “floods of tears” after his three-year-old cat, Slobbers, had to be put down, having been taken ill last Wednesday.

Adam’s mum, Alison, 43, told the Gazette how animal-loving Adam broke down at school after he was told his pet was hours away from death.

Vets were unable to save the black-and-white cat, which was left in agony as its internal organs failed.

Alison, of Byron Road, Rustington, said: “Adam was absolutely devastated when we told him.

“He has been sobbing non-stop since he came back from school. It has completely broken his heart.

“They were always cuddling and were totally inseparable. This has left him traumatised.”

Alison described how she returned home to find Slobbers moaning and barely able to stand.

She watched helplessly as the beloved family pet’s health deteriorated rapidly, as he began to convulse violently.

“He was making this horrible noise and managed to drag himself up to my son’s room – his favourite place in the house,” she said.

Alison rushed Slobbers to the Fitzalan House Veterinary Surgery, in Fitzalan Road, Littlehampton, where vets battled to save the critically ill cat.

In a worrying coincidence, a second cat dying from poisoning was taken to the practice earlier that day, from Walders Road, Rustington, just a short distance from the Oxleys’ home.

Vet Alison Livesey said she couldn’t be sure how the cats died, but suspected either anti-freeze or common garden lilies to be the possible cause of death.

She said: “Anti-freeze is a very dangerous substance and very toxic to cats and dogs. But what people may not realise is that common garden lilies are also very harmful.

“I cannot be certain if anti-freeze or lilies caused the death. But both cats did die of acute renal failure, which is common in these cases. It’s also not clear whether or not this was a deliberate poisoning.”

Alison and her husband Phil, 54, are warning others about potentially harmful substances in gardens.

She said: “One young boy’s life has been ruined because of this. I would hate to see this happen again.”