WATCH: Cats poisoned in Centurion

The ordeal of having your pet poisoned has become a marathon for a couple at complex in Eldoraigne, Centurion, Centurion Rekord reports.

They have lost more than one pet in this way in the Eldoraigne complex they live in near Pretoria.

Leroy Saunders and his wife moved into the pet-friendly complex in 2015 and have since lost three cats to vicious poisoning.

They had been giving stray or lost cats a home on a regular basis.

The couple said people who poisoned pets were sick – to say the least.

Saunders said towards the end of 2015, horrible things started happening to his animals.

“Both my cats, which were rescued pets, were found poisoned. Sushi was found in a neighbour’s yard, and my cat died trying to get home,” he said.

“A couple of weeks later, my other cat was found dead behind the garden shed in our yard and two months later. My wife’s cat was found dead in their living room.”

Fearing a repeat, the Saunders family decided not to have any more cats – until they gave refuge to another kitten named Riley.

“We kept her inside, away from the outside world, closing ourselves in without even being able to keep a window open.”

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A heartbroken Saunders said they found Riley next to the swimming pool at 5am moaning from pain. The family once again had to deal with a beloved pet being poisoned.

“The poison blinded her, and she was very fearful. We rushed her to the veterinarian, and they managed to save her life. The cat was out of danger, but the poisoning did not stop there.”

Saunders said a few weeks later, the animal was poisoned again.

“This time I managed to get to her early enough and used activated charcoal and a warm towel for the day to keep her stable, eventually, we gave her to a friend to look after as it was no longer safe for her in the complex,” he said.

Saunders said the family’s latest rescued cat was poisoned on Wednesday. The animal was believed to have been be poisoned with Step 2 organic phosphate. This black market poison causes extreme suffering and pain to animals.

“We found her lying next to our window in extreme pain, sweating, crying and moaning, unable to see. She wanted to bite us out of fear.”

The Saunders couple rushed her off to the nearby vet.

“She stayed overnight as her vitals have been up and down and she seems to be relapsing.”

Saunders said he received a call from the veterinarian during the night that the cat might have to be put down if her condition did not improve.

“Two neighbours in the complex have expressed their hate for cats,” said Saunders.

“One of the neighbours went to complain about our cat sitting on the border fence between houses saying he was worried our cat may attack and injure his dog.”

Saunders said about 90 percent of the residents in the complex owned pets.

The poisoning of his cat was uncalled for, he said, adding he had laid a charge at the Wierdabrug police station.

Jacqui Grove, chairperson for Tshwane SPCA, said people found guilty of poisoning animals could be fined or jailed. Death by poisoning was a cruel and an inhumane way to kill an animal, said Grove.

“Poisoning is a horrifying method of killing so-called ‘problem animals’ perpetrated by lazy and uninformed people.”

– Caxton News Service

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