Cats in the UK are dying due to mysterious illness

Dying felines

Cats are still dying in significant numbers from a mystery illness that investigators believe may be linked to widely sold cat food brands, prompting concern that not enough is being done to warn owners about a nationwide product recall.

Vets around the UK are understood to have been swamped by cases of pancytopenia, a condition in which the number of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets decreases rapidly, causing serious illness.

The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) said this week it was aware of at least 528 cases in cats over the past few months, of which 63.5% have proved fatal. The true number of deaths could be far higher, it said, because many cases are not reported to vets and only a small percentage of vets pass data on to the RVC.

Cat food recall

Certain batches of Sainsbury’s hypoallergenic cat foods, Applaws and AVA (a Pets at Home brand) were recalled by their manufacturer, Fold Hill Foods, in mid-June, prompting an investigation by the RVC and the Food Standards Agency (FSA).

The RVC and FSA are yet to confirm the cause of the spate of deaths, more than six weeks after initially raising the alarm. The length of the investigation is said to be causing frustration among cat food suppliers. Both organisations have said they are looking into all possibilities, including those not associated with food.

One cat owner, whose pet died on Tuesday, warned that too few people were aware of the recall and could unwittingly be feeding their cat products that could kill them. Steven Barrett, a commercial barrister from High Wycombe, said his nine-year-old cat, Freyja, a ragdoll, died on Tuesday after five days of illness.

Although the RVC and FSA investigations are ongoing, a statement on the RVC website referred to the possibility that the illness could be caused by mycotoxins, which are toxic compounds naturally produced by various fungi.

Mycotoxins can grow on crops before or after harvest and appear on foodstuffs including cereals, nuts, spices, dried fruits, apple juice and coffee, often under warm and humid conditions.

All of the brands that have been recalled are dry foods manufactured by Fold Hill Foods, part of the Lincolnshire-based farming business JW Grant.