![Cat owner Leslie Ward](http://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/SEC_145308794-5995.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
A couple has been left ‘terrified’ to let their cat go outside after ‘poison’ was scattered in their front garden.
Leslie Ward, 75, and his partner Patricia, 78, received a threat that said ‘something tragic’ would happen to their beloved pet Mr Tom.
They then discovered a mysterious brown powder outside their house in Laceby, in Grimsby, last week.
‘The garden was covered in brown powder, so this person is seriously wanting to do harm to my cat and animals passing through,’ Leslie told the GrimsbyLive.
![A Laceby man has been left terrified whenever his cat goes out after he discovered what he believes to be poison in his front garden. Leslie Ward, 75, who lives on Trevor Close with his partner Patricia, 78, and their beloved cat Mr Tom, said he found a mysterious brown powder scattered in his front garden on Monday morning (February 13). The bricklayer said he made the worrying discovery after he received threats from a member of the public who told him that](http://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/SEI_145053255-a24e.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
‘It is worrying because there’s also foxes and hedgehogs around. I have rung the RSPCA and they have said it is illegal to put poison down, that it is got to be segregated from wildlife or other animals, and that cats have got the right to roam.
‘Unfortunately we can’t follow Mr Tom about with a small scoop.’
It is yet unclear if the powder is indeed poison, but Leslie thought it is better to be safe than sorry.
To raise awareness amongst neighbours, the bricklayer installed a sign outside his house.
![A Laceby man has been left terrified whenever his cat goes out after he discovered what he believes to be poison in his front garden. Leslie Ward, 75, who lives on Trevor Close with his partner Patricia, 78, and their beloved cat Mr Tom, said he found a mysterious brown powder scattered in his front garden on Monday morning (February 13). The bricklayer said he made the worrying discovery after he received threats from a member of the public who told him that](http://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/SEI_145308502-720b.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1024)
It reads: ‘Please be aware that unauthorised poisons have been used in the local vicinity. Dog walkers and pet owners be vigilant.’
Leslie and Patricia have had Mr Tom for eight years now, after their previous cat Lucy passed away.
He began visiting them at their old home on Gibraltar Lane, and has since become a cherished pet.
Leslie said: ‘We have been told to keep him in, but he likes to roam at night.
‘I am terrified whenever he goes out, he is such an awkward cat and he wants to go out. If I do not get up to let him out he rips the bed to pieces.’
Last summer, the RSPCA issued a warning to cat owners after the deaths of three animals in suspected poisoning incidents.
At the time, the charity said it can be difficult to determine if cases are accidental or deliberate.
But poisoning an animal deliberately is a criminal offence under the Animal Welfare Act.
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