The two guinea pigs were found dead in Skripal's house some time after the attack, and a cat was put down after being discovered in a "distressed" state. Police sealed the house after the Skripals were discovered unconscious on a bench in Salisbury on March 4.
"When a vet was able to access the property, two guinea pigs had sadly died," the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said in a statement. "A cat was also found in a distressed state and a decision was taken by a veterinary surgeon to euthanise the animal to alleviate its suffering."
The deaths are the latest peculiar developments in a story that has taken a turn for the absurd in recent days. At the United Nations Security Council on Thursday, Russia's representative Vassily Nebenzia read out extracts from a copy of Alice in Wonderland in an attempt to discredit Britain's claims that Russia was responsible for the Skripals' fate.
Earlier on Thursday, the Russian embassy in London claimed Skripal's niece, Viktoria, had raised the issue of the pets, saying their condition and whereabouts were unknown. "It is essential to know if the animals also suffered from chemical poisoning," the embassy said in a statement.
DEFRA did not provide any information about a possible second cat or whether there was any evidence they had been poisoned.
In a statement posted to Facebook Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova questioned why the pets had not been noticed earlier in the investigation and why they were apparently not being treated as important evidence in the case.
Detectives revealed last week that they believe Skripal and his daughter Yulia, who was also poisoned, first came into contact with a nerve agent at the former spy's home and that the highest concentration of the substance had been found on the front door.
Sergei Skripal remains critically ill but stable in hospital. Yulia, also poisoned in the attack, is now conscious and talking. In a statement released Thursday, the 33-year-old said she woke up "over a week ago" and her "strength is growing daily."
Yulia and Sergei Skripal were found slumped on a bench at an outdoor shopping precinct. The British government believes they were poisoned with a Russian-made nerve agent, Novichok. Russia denies involvement and the incident has led to a spiraling diplomatic dispute between the two nations.
The UK and its allies have expelled scores of Russian diplomats, triggering retaliatory expulsions by Russia.
At the United Nations Security Council meeting on Thursday, Nebenzia, Russia's envoy, called the allegations a "fake story" and said the UK was "playing with fire and they will be sorry."
The British government insists that only Russia had the capability to carry out the attack.
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