Vets and cat owners alike all over the UK are puzzled and distressed as they try to find out what exactly has been killing dozens of family pets. Vets all over the region are seeing a sharp rise in cases of pancytopenia, a condition in which platelets, red cells, and white cells all drop dramatically over a short period of time.
As vets are piecing together what's happening, the likely culprit appears to be a brand of cat food that is quite popular. Worse still, the brand was recalled recently, but many cat owners are only finding out after experiencing the loss of their family pet.
The Royal Veterinary College recently noted that over the last few months, there have been over 500 cases of the condition, according to The Guardian. Of those, the majority have proven to be fatal. The college also worries that the actual number of deaths might be higher, as some pet owners might not have brought their cats in to a professional ahead of their death.
It seems that both Applaws and AVA brands of cat food recently recalled shipments of their products. The recall happened in mid-June, but many pet owners are still unaware of it. The Royal Veterinary College has been investigating the recall for six weeks and has yet to ultimately conclude that the food is causing the problem in pets.
Steven Barrett lost his 9-year-old cat, Freyja, after she was sick for five days. He told The Guardian that his cat had finished a bag of Applaws when she began vomiting. He had no idea the food was recalled until he went online to order more.
He explains that he treated the cat like she was a member of the family, and he can't believe her food could have done this to her: "My heart went through the floor. She was a member of our little family, which is how we treated her. I just wanted her to have the best food."
Once his cat fell ill, Barrett tried to get an appointment at his vet but had to wait. He explained the situation in more detail and was told to come in right away. "When the receptionist heard the name of the cat food she just told me to get an emergency appointment at another vet," he said. "I took her yesterday and she was dead by the end of the day."
Barrett shared his story to help other cat owners:
"My worry is that a lot of cat owners bulk buy dry food and this is a massive recall, so there could be toxin in bags of dried food that will be opened and given to cats and more cats will die."
