Two cats belonging to families living in Shakespeare Avenue in Hartlepool have had to be put to sleep in the past week – and their owners suspect they have been deliberately targeted.

They say another two cats have gone missing from nearby Wordsworth Avenue, and they fear they could be laying dying somewhere from the same thing.

Two other cats from Tristram Avenue, another street close by in the Oxford Road area, have had to be put down in recent months.

Michelle Dunn's six-month-old ginger cat Sandie was put down by a vet at the Middlesbrough PDSA on Monday after it had began being sick, wouldn't eat and was lethargic and wobbly on its feet.

The 40-year-old full-time mum-of-seven and stepmum-of-two, from Shakespeare Avenue, said: "The vet said he suspected Sandie was poisoned. It had hit his kidneys.

"A lot of cats have been poisoned. We have been told it could have been anti-freeze."

Michelle, who is married to warehouse worker Kevin, 42, said she fears for the health of her other two cats, Patches and Misty.

She added: "I want to warn people to keep their eye on their cats. Cats are family pets and they are dying."

Michelle's friend and neighbour Sacha Higgins' 11-month old black and white cat Simba started suffering similar symptoms on Friday night, and was put down the next day.

The 37-year-old full-time mum-of-seven said: "There are five doors between me and Michelle and with all the other cats, it's too much of a coincidence.

"We noticed Michelle's cat was acting in a similar way and told her to get straight to the vets.

"We think someone is doing this on purpose. Too many cats have gone all at once."

Drew Lonie, a senior veterinary surgeon at the PDSA in Middlesbrough, said he cannot comment on individual cases but advised: "Anyone who has got a cat that is acting in a strange way and not its normal self should contact their local vet or the PDSA if they are in receipt of benefits."

The PDSA can be contacted on (01642) 825793.