Shops recall pet food linked to rare cat disease
This is currently happening in the United Kingdom, but it's concerning, causing a very unusual disease, that I thought it is best for you to be aware of this
Sainsbury's and Pets at Home are among retailers to have recalled a type of dry cat food over a potential link to a rare and fatal cat disease.
Owners should return food made on behalf of the brands by manufacturer Fold Hill as a precaution.
Pancytopenia
Fold Hill and the Food Standards Agency say cats that eat it could be at risk of developing the bone marrow condition pancytopenia.
There has been a spike in cases in the UK, the Royal Veterinary College said.
The disease causes a cat's blood cell count to fall rapidly, leading to serious illness and sometimes death.
"Typically, we may see one case of this per year, but we have seen now 10 cats with severe pancytopenia in the last four weeks," said Dr Barbara Glanemann, senior lecturer in small animal medicine at the Royal Veterinary College (RVC).
"Given the rarity of this condition, the clustering of these cases is concerning."
The college is aware of between 40 and 50 affected cats around the country. She said that some animals had become unwell at the same time and from the same household.
Fold Hill Foods said products under the Sainsbury's Hypoallergenic Recipe range and Pets at Home Ava range are being recalled.
Applaws products, which are sold by Amazon and other pet food shops, may also be unsafe.
The Food Standards Agency said that notices will be displayed at the tills of retailers selling these products and online.
It advised customers to contact retailers if they had bought the goods.
Pancytopenia Information
Pancytopenia is the medical term used to describe the condition when all three major formed elements of blood (red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets) are low in number.
When red blood cells, white blood cells, or platelets are low, we call that anemia, leukopenia, or thrombocytopenia, respectively
Pancytopenia is not a disease. Rather, it is a sign of disease. All three cell lines are decreased, either because of bone marrow problems or destruction of the cells outside of the bone marrow.
Clinical signs of pancytopenia include pallor and bleeding disorders, mostly due to low numbers of red blood cells and platelets. In general, clinical signs of the primary disease that is causing pancytopenia are more evident and will vary significantly depending on the disease process.
Common reasons for pancytopenia in dogs and cats
Exposure to bone marrow suppressing drugs.
Estrogen. Pets are either purposely given the medication or accidentally exposed through their owner’s topical therapy. Rarely, male pets can have tumors that produce excess estrogen.
Some veterinary antibiotics, antifungals, and dewormers, as well as methimazole, which is used to treat feline hyperthryoidism, can cause bone marrow suppression in rare individuals.
Chemotherapy drugs can (and often do) suppress the bone marrow.
Infectious disease
Parvovirus, feline leukemia virus (Felv), feline immunodificiency virus (FIV), and Ehrlichiosis (either chronic or acute).
Bacterial infections leading to septicemia and endotoxemia are also to blame for some cases of pancytopenia.
Neoplasia (cancer)
Malignant histiocytosis, lymphoma, and carcinomas are all capable of suppressing the production of blood cells.
Pancytopenia can also be caused by factors outside of the bone marrow, such as direct destruction of the blood cells themselves. This most commonly occurs in patients with immune-mediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) and immune-mediated thrombocytopenia (IMT).
