A PET owner has put her house up for sale after her cat was poisoned with antifreeze and died - almost a year after it was shot in the face.

Angela Galvin, 63, said she can no longer live on Summer Lane in Royston following the horrendous treatment of her cats.

The ten-year-old tabby Theo had to be put down by a vet after ingesting the poison.

Angela had three cats, Theo and Cookie who both survived being shot last year, and Ollie, who was not injured.

She had kept the cats indoors following the shootings, but eventually decided to let them venture out because she thought she was being cruel by keeping them in.

However, she took Theo to the vets last Sunday because he would not come in for his food, and was hiding under cars.

The vet could see no obvious signs of injury and gave antibiotics to Theo, who was shot in the face last year.

But Angela returned to the vets the following day, believing he may have been poisoned with antifreeze. A blood test confirmed her suspicions. Theo’s kidneys were failing and he was put to sleep.

Angela said: “Theo was a rescue kitten, we got him when he was six-weeks-old. I know people say they are just pets, but he wasn’t just a pet. He was a real character and I love him very much.

“We are moving now. I cannot stay here, the house will be on the market next week. I’ll probably move towards Elsecar or somewhere more rural.”

Angela contacted the police, but said she felt it was ‘a waste of time’.

She said: “There is legislation in place to protect animals, but unless I had CCTV of someone doing it, they couldn’t do anything.

“The legislation is in place, but no one does anything about it. If the police can’t do anything, the law is useless.

“We keep talking about protecting animals, and the legislation is changing so imprisonment (for cruelty to animals) can be up to five years.

“But it doesn’t matter whether it is six months months or five years or 15 years if no one enforces it.”

Angela said antifreeze is quite sweet, making it attractive to cats, and that there was a campaign to add a bitterant.

“There has been a lot of talk about antifreeze and how sweet it is, so cats like it. There is a campaign to get a bitterant added so it is not as attractive. And incidents of animals being shot or poisoned are going up, but no one wants to address it.

“If a cat pooed in someone’s garden, they used to come round and tell you.

“People don’t want to confront things in the way we used to, which was face to face. It seems they have found a quick solution to the problem.”