HAYDEN - A neighborhood is living in fear as family pets appear to be being poisoned, either intentionally or otherwise.

At least nine cats in the Emerald Estates area have died in recent months, and as their owners share their stories they are beginning to believe someone is doing it on purpose.

"Until the perpetrator moves away or is caught, people need to keep their cats in," said Lindsey Prumers, who filed a

report with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department after two of her pets died.

"The first died mysteriously at the end of (last) summer," she said. "He was beautiful, a big, very healthy cat. Then on May 26 my real baby, Winston Charles, came in and let out a pitiful meow. He couldn't walk properly, and was falling over."

That was at 6 a.m., and at 8 when the North Idaho Pet Emergency office opened, she took Winston in.

"He was in excruciating pain," Prumers said. "They gave him emergency hydration."

Later she took Winston to his regular veterinarian, but his kidneys had shut down and he died.

In mid-April the circumstances were repeated when her third cat, Sydney came home sick, and remained that way for six days before being euthanized.

The vet reported Sydney had ingested a toxin, most likely antifreeze, the sheriff's report on the incident said.

Two weeks later she heard from her daughter that one of her friend's cats had also died. That was when they began asking around about other possible incidents.

"People came out of the woodwork," Prumers said.

During 11 years of living there, they had always had cats, and it was only after a new neighbor moved in that they began dying.

"Our cat didn't even make it to the vet," said Debra Machado, who lives nearby. "He was perfectly healthy, only 2 years old."

The scenario was the same, she said: The cat went out, then returned home sick.

Prumers went to the new neighbor and asked if they had any antifreeze lying around. The answer was no, but she reported to the deputy seeing three jugs of the solution in his garage.

Prumers reported that her son had previously played with the son of that neighbor, who would sometimes shoot cats with an Airsoft gun. Other neighbors reported that no animals had been killed, but the neighbor had threatened to kill their dogs.

"I have two dogs also," Machado said. "It makes me so scared to let my little dogs out front. The neighbor is not an animal fan.

"We're not getting any more until this is resolved."

Victims have put up signs in attempts to solve the matter, but someone keeps taking them down, Prumers said. They have gotten another kitten, at the urging of her grandson, but will not let it out of the house.

"My grandson is so upset about the other three," she said. "He had to witness their excruciating pain.

"I don't understand why they are doing this. They don't understand how important the pets are to the family."