Anti-freeze should be given a more bitter taste to help discourage cats from eating the poisonous product, a vet has urged.
Dawn Kent, practice manager at Willow Veterinary Care in Newport Pagnell, is hoping to get 10,000 people to sign a petition calling on anti-freeze manufacturers to add a bitterant to their goods, reports the Milton Keynes Citizen.
If they reach their target, the matter would then have to be discussed in parliament and a bill would be put forward.
It comes after Ms Kent has had to deal with an increasing number of cat fatalities in recent months after the animals had been attracted to the sweet taste of anti-freeze and consumed a fatal amount which cannot be treated with pet medication.
She said: "Cats find the taste of anti-freeze very sweet so they are attracted to drink it. All we are asking is that companies add a bitterant to their products. For me it's a no-brainer.
"Cats sit under cars to stay warm or avoid traffic. They drink the anti-freeze and the effects are so quick that by the time the owners have noticed it could be too late."
