Asmall French town is reeling from a mass poisoning that has killed hundreds of cats in the space of a month.

According to La Depeche, over 200 domestic and stray cats have fallen victim to a poisoner dubbed the “cat serial killer” in the coastal town of Saint Pierre la Mer, 55 miles south-west of Montpellier.

“They vomited something blue, they mewed and died,” a resident, whose cats were poisoned, told the newspaper.

The local Society for the Protection of Animals has reportedly been overwhelmed by calls amid fears a child could accidentally swallow the poison.

“The atmosphere has become hateful, nobody trusts anyone,” a villager named only as Geneviève was quoted as saying by French daily Ouest-France.

“We’re all afraid a child might ingest some of this mystery poison.”

The poison has yet to be identified, France.info reported, and the local society for the protection of stray cats has filed a criminal complaint with the gendarmerie so autopsies can be performed on the dead animals.

The motives of the poisoner remain a mystery to the locals.