Two years after the poisoning of around twenty cats with anti-slug product hidden in meatballs, around ten felines were found dead in April in the town of Lechâtelet, in Côte-d’Or, reports France Burgundy Blue.
“We are seeing an increase in sudden cat deaths. To date, around ten cats have already died. These are early deaths and for no apparent reason. Be vigilant with your cats, try to keep them at home,” we can read on a poster posted on April 25 by the town hall in this town in Burgundy-Franche-Comté.
If the story is taken seriously, it is because the village has already been confronted with a “cat poisoner” in 2022. At that time, around twenty felines were found dead after having ingested meatballs containing anti-slug product. But no complaint had been filed.
Despite precedent, none of the cats have been autopsied. “We are not certain that these are intentional poisonings, because none of the cats were taken to the veterinarian, it is a significant cost”, explains to Parisien Nathalie Leignel, municipal councilor and president of the Chadaba association , who offered to have the cats examined if other bodies were discovered.
According to her, it cannot be an involuntary poisoning: “Cats can accidentally ingest slug repellent in a garden, but at this time, we are not yet using the product, it is not the season,” she explains. As for the accident or illness, it would have been possible if we were talking about one or two cats, but here, we have around ten, it seems unlikely,” she adds.
Without proof of poisoning, it is impossible to file a complaint, she adds, without much hope of finding a culprit. “It’s atrocious,” continues Nathalie Leignel, “poisoning means agony lasting several hours for these cats, they suffer enormously. »
After the mystery of 2022, the town hall suspected the action of a person unhappy with the large number of stray cats in the town. According to the president of the association, the town of Lechâtelet has around a hundred for 230 inhabitants. Last March, the municipal council voted for a budget of 1000 euros to sterilize stray cats. A campaign which should begin soon, according to Nathalie Leignel.
