You might have read about the cat food poisoning scandal which it is believed has caused the death of many hundreds if not thousands of domestic cats in the UK. It's been on news media websites quite a lot recently. Pets at Home own cat food brand (AVA) is affected and other pet foods which you can check out by clicking on the links below. It is vital that people are fully aware of this in the UK.
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The Guardian newspaper reports that some pet food outlets are not warning their customers of the crisis. Perhaps they want to keep it quiet but all they are doing is jeopardising the lives of cats. If it is true this is highly irresponsible behaviour. It is said that several branches of Sainsbury's are still stocking these foods! I find that shocking.
However, the foods have been formally recalled but cats are still going ill. The foods were manufactured by one facility, Fold Hill Foods. The matter is being investigated as a matter of urgency. It is believed that mycotoxins caused by a fungus on cereal which is incorporated into the foods is the culprit.
AND here:
Three links to the PDF files which contain the recall info listing the foods:- Pets at Home Recall Fact Sheet June 16, 2021
- Product Recall Sainsbury's Hypoallergenic food
- FOLD HILL FOODS LTD IS RECALLING A NUMBER OF PRODUCTS IT MANUFACTURES ON BEHALF OF SELECTED PARTNER BRANDS.
The Daily Mail reports today that cats are being given dog blood transfusions to keep them alive for 24-hours! The disease that this food causes is called feline pancytopenia; a disease that affects the production of blood cells in bone marrow. This is the white cells, red cells and T-cells. This is why the cats are being given blood transfusions. It's a way of instantly introducing these cells back into their bloodstream.
The trouble is that cat blood is apparently rare in the UK and so they are resorting to dog blood. In one instance a cat owner had to decide whether they should spend £10,000 on cat blood from Portugal. Obviously if they have insurance this is the kind of situation where it comes into its own but even then, there will be limits to how much that can be spent.
Owners have racked up bills of £14,000 for dog blood transfusions that can cost £2,500 a time but which only buys time. Apparently, it isn't a cure because it is dog blood. The Cat Welfare Group is trying to create a central donor database to help manage this crisis. It is a silent crisis because hundreds of cats are dying and probably many more than records show because often people don't take their cats to their veterinarian.
Investigators have yet to find a direct link between the premium food brands concerned such as Applaws and Sainsbury's Hypoallergenic Recipe. Feline pancytopenia is a rare disease normally which is why it was so noticeable when many cases started to surface.
At the last report at least 330 cats were known to have died from the illness with over 500 contracting it which provides us with an idea of the percentage of cats who died once they get the disease. But the Royal Veterinary College state that this figure is not comprehensive.
Blood transfusions are a life-saving procedure. It can be whole blood or blood components. Where does the cat blood come from? It appears that it might come from a cat that lives at the veterinary practice or from cats owned by the veterinary staff. I find that a bit surprising to be honest because it indicates that there is no system in place as there is with respect to humans.
They may be cat guardians who sign up to allowing their cat to donate blood. It is an interesting issue because the owner is consenting to a procedure on their cat without the cat's consent. And the procedure is carried out for altruistic purposes.
There are obviously strict requirements for a donor cat. Before this crisis, my research indicates that there were at least two cases of cats had receiving blood from a dog as a last resort. They are known as xenotransfusions. Both the donor and the recipient can develop health complications. These are immune-mediated or non-immune-mediated.
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