We lost our lovely cat Funston (who was a wanderer by nature – he spent a lot of time in the church yard) to accidental anti-freeze poisoning. Apparently, anti-freeze tastes very sweet to animals and children, and it is fairly commonly ingested by both.
I Googled it, and it only takes an animal to walk through spilt anti-freeze, then lick their paws to be affected. I had no idea of this – I’ve merrily filled up with washer screen fluid in my car in the past, and not given it too much thought when it has slopped onto the driveway in the process.
I wanted to share this with people, to avoid this happening to another pet or, God forbid, a child. I’m very thankful to my neighbour who found Funston, and rushed him to the vet (I wasn’t home). We have some very kind people in this village.
PARWICH.ORG 
So glad this was spotted early, and thanks for the warning.
I was very sorry to hear about Debbie’s cat, Funston. Sadly
poisoning of cats with anti-freeze happens all too often. Another
thing which is highly toxic to cats is lily pollen, even a small
amount licked from their fur can be fatal. Something to bear in
mind when buying plants for the garden.
deb sorry to learn about your cat ..i lost 3 in december,the vet said it was antifreeze, BUT further investigation proved it to be rat poison ,namely Bromethalin [the active ingredient] which is used in most retail over the counter solutions/blocks, .
Sorry to hear about your cat. Screenwash isn’t exactly the same as antifreeze though. I’d be very surprised if spilt screenwash hung around long enough to be absorbed onto a cat’s paws, because it’s generally dilute and a different mix of chemicals. I hate to mention it, but there weren’t any suspicious circumstances were there? 9 cats were deliberately poisoned in Somerset last year with antifreeze.
Rick,
I have absolutely no reason to believe there was anything purposeful about this, it was just an unfortunate accident.
Thanks to everyone for all the kind comments about Funston.
Debs