Hundreds of cats are dying from a mystery illness with an investigation underway into popular brands of pet food.
There have been 528 known cases, with 335 of those cats dying so far, according to figures by the Royal Veterinary College (RVC).
In June Fold Hill Foods, which manufactures food for other firms, recalled several brands of dry cat food prompting an investigation by the RVC and the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
These include various types of Applaws, which is available on Amazon, Ava, sold by Pets at Home, and two types of cat food sold at Sainsbury’s.
Wilko has also decided to pull a number of products as a precautionary measure.
Investigators are looking into whether there could be a link between the pet food and pancytopenia, although none has yet been established.
Steven Barrett was devastated when his nine-year-old cat Freyja died on Tuesday after being ill for five days.
She had just finished a 75kg bag of Applaws cat food before she began vomiting.
Mr Barrett only found out about the recall when he tried to buy another bag online and saw it wasn’t available.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Barrett said: “It feels like we’ve lost a family member.
“I’m grieving. I’ve been in floods [of tears].”
Fold Hill Foods said in June that “there is currently no established link between these deaths and food we produce and vet teams are working hard to establish the source”.
Ben Mankertz, General Manager for Fold Hill Foods Ltd, said: “We are alarmed and deeply saddened to learn of reports from the Food & Veterinary Authorities of some health issues in cats.
“As cat owners ourselves, we fully understand how upsetting and stressful this situation is for families and although diet has not been confirmed as the cause, we would prefer to act now to ensure the absolute safety of cats.
“As one of the leading pet food manufacturers in the UK, ensuring your pet’s safety is our priority and therefore we have chosen to recall the ranges of cat food that we manufacture for the brands who have been identified.
“We feel this is the safest course of action until an exact cause of the issue has been found.”
The RVC is analysing cat blood samples sent by vets, and samples of food have been tested in independent labs.
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A statement on the RVC website referred to the possibility that the illness could be caused by mycotoxins, which are produced by 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.
