CAT owners in Weymouth are being warned to be wary after two pets died of suspected anti-freeze poisoning.

The cats were taken by their owners to the vet after they became ill in the Culliford Way area of Littlemoor. People in the neighbourhood are being urged to check their garages and under their cars for signs of leaking anti-freeze.

Vet Ellie Marriott, of Castle Vets in Weymouth and Dorchester, said: “I would urge cat owners in the area to keep their cats under close observation and report any vomiting, weakness or drunken behaviour immediately to their vet.

“They may want to consider keeping them indoors for now.”

Ms Marriott said cats that consume anti-freeze go into acute renal failure. She added: “The cat looks like it’s drunk and they can go into kidney failure and develop problems with breathing and their heart. There’s an antidote but the cat has to have it within 12 hours. But often people can’t identify in time what has happened.”

In March and April last year there was a spate of pet poisonings in Weymouth. Three cats in the Wessex Road area died within days of each other in March 2012.

All showed symptoms similar to that of poisoning with ethylene glycol, a common additive found in anti-freeze, brake fluid, inks and car radiator coolant. In April 2012, a pet owner in Canberra Road in Littlemoor found three of her pet cats dead after they were poisoned with anti-freeze.