As some of you may be aware, my pet cat Anubis (in my avatar, attached a photo of him too) passed away recently of antifreeze poisoning.

On the saturday morning, he was acting sleepily, though this was not unusual. During the day, he threw up a couple of times which also isn't unusual as sometimes he eats some bad grass or something.
During the afternoon, he suddenly took a turn for the worse. His breathing became laboured, he lost his balance (would walk at an angle and leaning) and was very lethargic. I quickly researched the symptoms and found that he matched 6/9 symptoms of antifreeze poisoning (missing were: agitation, seizures and coma).

We took him to a vet on an emergency call, who confirmed antifreeze poisoning, and despite his best efforts and things looking promising as Anubis survived the night (it kills usually within a day of ingestion), he passed away around 6am.

Since this date, my weekly giveaway will now be held in his memory. He was amazing cat, brother, son and friend. I love him a lot and do and will miss him.

As Anubis was a big part of our lives, I was worried about getting another cat for fear of disliking it if it "wasn't Anubis". However, as the days have gone on without Anubis (and much upset), I realised I would love a cat for whoever it was. I wouldn't hate it for not being Anubis because I'm not looking to replace Anubis, I want to love and be loved by another cat.

We started looking for another cat (cats, actually, we want 2) and happened to come across an ad for egyptian maus, boy and girl, and responded to the advert.

Initial "niggling" feeling came from their reptition of what the cats would be supplied with, how "perfect" they were etc. The next "something is amiss" is when we were told they moved to the Isle of Man, while the ad said the location was Coventry. After they "accepted" us having the cats (we had sent them some pictures of Anubis to show we had experience with Maus and that he had been well looked after), I googled the names they gave us and found this.

At least we cottoned on before any money was transferred, so no financial loss there. I decided, just to be sure, to set up an account and respond to the ad again. If they were legitimately selling their 2 kittens, they would say they were taken.

Next day, I got a response. The kittens were availble. Scammers confirmed.

And then it got worse. There were more than the 3 pictures we had been sent originally, so I clicked to see the additional pictures and what did I see?

A picture of my girlfriend, holding Anubis.
Another picture of Anubis..
..and another one of Anubis which had been renamed to "Mum.jpg".

Anubis was a beautiful cat, sure, but he lacked the equipment to sire kittens, let alone give birth to them.

So now not only are these scammers scamming people, they are using the pictures of my recently passed away cat to do so. As you can imagine, that's unsettling and upsetting.

I've reported them with all the details I was given and found out, to the fraud department of our police force.

I know the GOG forums aren't my personal blog, but I felt I should let everyone know what is going on so they can understand why I haven't been doing the draws and such.

For everyone: Please don't use antifreeze for unintended purposes (e.g. rat poison).

For all automobile owners: Please consider using non-toxic antifreeze. It shouldn't cost you much/any more but if it leaks or spills, it is far less likely to kill.

For animal owners: Please be aware of your pet acting "drunk" or being unusually unresponsive. Especially if they are outdoor pets. By the time they display the symptoms of antifreeze poisoning, chances of survival are slim, recovery even less so. Also be aware that after the drunk phase, there is usually a "recovery phase" where the alchohol from the antifreeze is no longer in their system. This is the "quiet before the storm", not a sign the pet is better..

Thanks for your time and I hope you all have a better christmas than I'm having!

EDIT: Attaching didn't work. Didn't warn me that the per-image limit was 500kB..

Very sorry to hear about Anubis. I absolutely adore cats, grew up with them, at my parents we had 15 at one point (2 litters... lol, best time for a kid ever). If I had the financial means to support one (or two) I'd get them in a heartbeat. As it is, I sadly couldn't guarantee I could support a cat if it ever falls ill which is something I just wouldn't be able to stand.

I'm sure you'll love whatever cat comes your way, cats are just made that way. Merry Xmas to you.

People now do cat-scams? That's pathetic...

Sorry to hear about this xyem. I know it's not much, but i know of a lot of people with a bad run in to christmas this year. Some very serious things.

You have my deepest sympathies for your loss, I know my furry little boys are not just pets but a part of the family.

Shame on those heartless scammers, that is just heartless. If I were you, I would adopt from my local humane society or animal shelter. Those places are usually legit.

edit: Keep your next cat indoors, the indoors is a much safer place for them.

So very sorry to hear this. It's been devastating every time we've lost a furry friend, and I know I'll be a complete basket case when the goofy knucklehead in my avatar passes on.

Try to have a nice Christmas anyway, and know that there is a shelter kitty just waiting for your family to come by and give it a home.

I'm really sorry you had to suffer from the pain of losing your beloved cat, and then to suffer the anger and frustration of the deception of opportunists scammers... That's was really low from them, I really hope the police capture them.

My best wishes for you and your beloved ones, I hope you can have some peace and joy in these holidays.

Sorry to hear that, dude. And Licurg, pet scamming is pretty common. The guy is probably using Xyem's pics to seem more legit as the pictures will be less likely to be on the internet already.

That's (extra) terrible and I feel your pain. One of my cats (Bullet) died of antifreeze poisoning a few weeks before Christmas last year. It was terrible and I wouldn't wish that sort of thing on anyone or anything (especially cats).

As to cat-scammers, I hope someone clubs them in the face repeatedly with a rake.

I lost my Bengal Crookshanks about two years ago. He suffocated in my arms after taking a bad fall. I have never cried even remotly as hard for a human being as I did Crook.

3 weeks later I had a baby Mau named Ramesses and, wreckless as the little shit is, he has helped immesurably in overcoming the loss of Crook.

There is nothing I can say to ease your pain or loss only to say that there would be no mourning if there was no love.

When chihuahuas were all the rage, there were quite a lot of scammers promising chihuahua puppies at a comparatively low price. Our local public service TV-network even did a fare amount of research into it.




xyem, I'm really sorry to hear that you are forced to go through this. Losing a pet is bad enough, but having to deal with scammers on top of it, it can't be easy. I really hope they catch those people behind the scam, or at least freeze all their assets.

I'm sorry to hear about what happened to Anubis :( I've stopped having pets some time ago since I can't handle it when they pass away. Anti-freeze poisoning is a terrible thing. I had a pet dog as a little boy named Skipper. We let him run around outside and be free (not chained up). One day we found him dead. Turns out somebody had mixed dog food and anti-freeze and put it out up the road. There is one guy who lives up there that always complained about dogs running around loose and hates all my relatives. I have no doubt that he did it but there was no way to prove it.

Again, sorry for your loss and I hope they stop those scammers from using his pictures.

What the fing hell? They are using picture of your cat to scam people? That's shockingly low. Just a horrible insult to your situation, and I'm very sorry that is something you ever had to deal with.

My cats are my little buddies, and I would hate loose them. I sorry you lost yours, but I am sure there is a fuzzy buddy out there somewhere for you. He may be different than what you had, but don't let that stop you for a second. There are some good kittens roaming around out there on silent paws. Hopefully one will sneak up on you.

Very sorry about Anubis xyem. :( May he forever shine in your memory and bring your heart renewed joy when you think of his antics and quirks. Sorry it was compounded by the scammers. I wish you the best.

It is? I never heard of it before :/