A pet owner wants to highlight the dangers of antifreeze to cats after her own feline is thought to have died after ingesting the chemical.

Mandy McGeorge, of Ashwell Road, Bury St Edmunds, believes her cat Missy to be the third on the Priors estate to have died from antifreeze poisoning in the last four weeks.

She said on Sunday night someone brought her eight-year-old tabby cat to her door.

She said: “She was paralysed from the back down.

“She couldn’t move her legs or stop being sick and was really screaming in agony and I picked her up gently and held her in my arms.

“I could see she was trying to die. She closed her little eyes. We got to the vets and she said there was nothing she could do and had to put her to sleep.”

She said if people used antifreeze they should make sure there are no leaks or spillages and dispose of it properly, and pet owners should also be aware of the dangers.

“I just want to make people aware to keep their wits about them,” she said.

Vet Sophie Court, from Swayne & Partners in Bury, where Missy was taken, said they had not seen a huge number of cats suffering from antifreeze poisoning in recent months, but they did get occasional cases.

She also echoed Miss McGeorge’s call for people to dispose of antifreeze properly, adding if a cat was showing signs of the poisoning their owner should contact the vets straight away.

“It’s pretty difficult to pull them round from it really and it goes on to cause basically really nasty renal failure,” she said.

The Animal Health Trust charity has recently urged pet owners to familiarise themselves with the signs of antifreeze poisoning in their pets to avoid unnecessary deaths.

The key signs to look out for are vomiting, seizures, increased urination and excessive drinking. The dangerous toxin found commonly in antifreeze, ethylene glycol, has a sweet taste tempting animals to ingest the substance should they find it on their paws or in an easily-accessible place.

In 2011, Darren and Tracey Towns had to put two of their cats down after drinking antifreeze.