Little girl from Rhuddlan sees cat die from slug pellets

Jun 25 2008 by David Rutland, Rhyl Visitor

A YOUNG girl from Rhuddlan has given a stark warning about the dangers of garden pesticides after her pet kitten died in agony.

It is thought that one-year-old Tiny picked up slug pellets on her paws and coat while visiting a neighbour’s garden.

She started to digest them after cleaning herself, and became ill.

Speaking to The Visitor last week, her owner Chloe Meade, 10, said: “My cat was poisoned by slug pellets. She is still very sick and in intensive care in the animal hospital.”

Sadly Tiny died in the vets after two days of pain.

Mum Liz Meade said: “I wasn’t aware they were so dangerous. Chloe is absolutely heart-broken. We’ve had 48 hours of non-stop crying from her. Night and day.

“She was called Tiny because she was so small when we got her. She was the runt of the litter and she never got any bigger.

“The whole thing was very traumatic. It was awful, the cat clearly suffered and it totally freaked me out. She was having seizures while we were taking her in the car to Rhyl. It was very, very unpleasant.”

Slug pellets are cereal chunks poisoned with metaldehyde and methiocarb and are designed to be more attractive to slugs than plants. Unfortunately, these cereal chunks also attract dogs, birds and beetles.

One Rhyl vet, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the Visitor: “We do occasionally see cats which have been poisoned with slug pellets, but most cats are careful what they eat and it’s normally quite difficult to get a cat to eat poison.”

Natural alternatives to slug pellets are available and Chloe believes that gardeners should start using them.