A WARNING has been issued to pet owners after a cat reportedly died after eating a mouse which had been poisoned.

According to reports someone in the Weyhill Road area of Andover has been putting rodent poison down.

Unfortunately it seems a cat ate one of the mice which had been poisoned and later died.

The warning affects the Jenson Gardens and Kings Chase areas.

According to pet experts PetMD, although designed to kill rats and mice, cats often find rodenticides (rat and mouse poison) tempting as well.

Most (but not all) rodenticides are composed of anticoagulants, a type of drug that prevents blood from clotting by interfering with vitamin K, a key ingredient in the clotting process.

When taken in sufficient quantities by the cat, it results in spontaneous bleeding (internal bleeding, external bleeding, or both). If left untreated, this could prove fatal for your cat.

Typically, it takes 2 to 5 days for symptoms associated with anticoagulant poisoning to appear. They include laboured breathing, bruising, pale gums and bleeding.

If you see these symptoms, go to the vets immediately.