The veterinary profession are urging people to sign a petition to add a foul-tasting additive (bitterant) to antifreeze. This would deter pets from ingesting the sweet tasting poison and so prevent them from a painful death.The petition has, so far, attracted 27,000 names but for the problem to be debated in parliament it requires 100,000. The poison causes irreversible damage to the kidneys. It is generally not taken from the bottle but lapped from the ground after car owners are replacing or topping up their engines. Cats tend to ingest it when cleaning themselves after walking through spillages.