A family have today been left devastated by the loss of their four beloved cats and fearing for the life of another after a spate of poisonings in Whitton.

Richard and Karen Holland and their six children were distraught after their four cats died within days of each other.

A vet from Barn Veterinary Surgery has said they were probably poisoned by anti-freeze and admitted there was a spate of similar incidents in the area.

Mrs Holland, of Shenstone Drive said: “It is very serious and needs to be stopped before more defenceless cats die.”

The family first became worried when their five cats all went missing over the weekend and a neighbour also reported three cats missing.

One of the neighbour’s cats then returned and after a short while it fitted and died.

On Sunday, Mrs Holland, 45, went knocking on doors to see if any of their neighbours had seen the cats and discovered that ginger female Nala had been found and collected by the RSPCA and taken to the vets, where she later died.

Small female Russian blue Riedy was found by a neighbour and Mrs Holland then discovered long-haired black male Blue under a bush.

Both cats were seriously ill and RSPCA vets confirmed they had been poisoned. Despite the couple’s care and attention, Riedy died on Wednesday and they woke yesterday to discover Blue had also died during the night.

Black and ginger tortoiseshell female Asda was found dead under a hedge.

Karen and Richard have six children and the whole family has been upset by the loss of the pets.

“I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet. We had five cats and now we have none. Our five-year-old keeps asking when is Tarquin [the missing kitten] coming home,” said Mr Holland, 41.

“We have no idea where it would have come from. Anti-freeze isn’t something you really use at this time of year in the middle of the summer.”

The couple had had Asda for three years and Nala and Blue were both her kittens.

Black and white male cat Tarquin, another of Asda’s kittens, is still missing, along with a number of other cats in the Whitton area.

The couple first raised their concerns with neighbours via Archant’s hyper-local social network streetlife. To find out what your neighbours are talking about, log on to www.streetlife.com

n Have you suffered something similar? Write to Your Letters, Ipswich Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN