CATS are dying unexpectedly in a Callington estate and there are fears they may have been poisoned.

Pet owners in Coronation Close have been left distraught after their pets became ill very quickly and died or had to be put down because of the severity of their symptoms.

Janet Tarhzouti has lost three of her cats, 'Moses', 'Chaz' and 'Leo', in similar circumstances since April and another cat 'Skittles' is missing.

She said it had been very distressing for her and her three children who thought the world of their cats: 'When the first one died it was bad enough. It deteriorated really quickly — it went really skinny and could not support its back legs. This mucus stuff started coming out its nose and mouth and it was screaming.

'We had to have it put down and then a week later it happened again. From the time the cat went out in the morning to when it came home in the evening it was like a different cat. It was thin and dehydrated and it could not even drink water. It was awful to see, really horrible and my children are devastated.'

After a third cat showed the same symptoms, Mrs Tarhzouti became suspicious and talking with neighbours she discovered other cats had suffered a similar fate.

The owner said she was asked by the vet she saw if she had any lilies, which are toxic to cats, or anti-freeze, a small sip of which can poison a cat.

Jean Cheney's four-year-old tomcat Taz collapsed last Monday and was taken to Calweton Veterinary Centre in the town where it was nursed overnight but took a turn for the worse and died.

The normally plump Taz was thinner than usual but had his normal 'Sunday roast' the day before.

'I cooked a chicken and he ate everything I gave him because he liked his food,' said Mrs Cheney. 'The next morning he was fine but by the evening my neighbour came running down and said to call the vets because Taz was poorly.

'The vets did everything they could but they could not save him. I am heartbroken because Taz was my only cat and my companion really. He was a real character and everybody loved him. It is terrible to think he might have been poisoned.'

The police have been informed and are asking people to contact them if they have any information regarding these incidents or have been victims of something similar.

Callington vet Stuart Gough said he was concerned about some of the 'strange' cases that had come in recently but at the moment the only thing that linked them was geography and that each one was fatal, but not all the symptoms or cause of death were the same. Mrs Cheney's cat had died from anaemia but the others had not.

'There are many, many causes of fatal anaemia and poisoning is one of the rarest but we are not ruling it out,' he said.

The vet added that owners were reluctant to go down the route of expensive diagnostic tests which would provide more information about what happened to the animals.

Callington PCSO Mark Stribley said the police had been in touch with the Environment Agency to see if there was something coming out of the nearby stream but as yet this has not been investigated. The area was rich in mining activity and there was evidence of arsenic in the soil.

He said: 'In each case the cats have become emaciated and something has eaten away at them from the inside.

'If anyone has any information or has cats that are missing please let us know. At the moment we are trying to ascertain the extent of the problem.'

Anyone who can help the police should contact PCSO Mark Stribley on 08452 777444.