Owner fears kitten death linked to food

Alex Padovano and her kitten Penelope

A pet owner says she was "devastated" after discovering her eight month-old kitten may have died from eating food linked to a rare disease.

Alex Padovano believed the food she bought for Penelope was the very best.

But a short time after learning her kitten had contracted a bone marrow condition, Ms Padovano said Penelope had to be put down.

Sainsbury's and Pets at Home have recalled a type of dry cat food over a potential link to the fatal disease.

Cat owners are being advised to return food made on behalf of retailers by the manufacturer, Fold Hill, as a precaution.

Fold Hill and the Food Standards Agency said there is a possible link between the products and a bone marrow condition called pancytopenia.

Ms Padovano, 26, said she had fed Penelope Ava pet food, which is sold by Pets at Home, since she brought the kitten home at just three months old.

However, she was forced to take the kitten to a vet a fortnight ago.

Penelope was eight months old when she died

"She was doing really well on the Sunday," said Ms Padovano. "But on the Monday she took a turn for the worse. She was bleeding out of her ears and mouth."

The vet did a blood transfusion but the treatment, costing more than £3,500, was not enough to save Penelope.

Ms Padovano says she does not know if the food she fed her kitten contributed but if a link is proven that would be "horrific and horrendous".

There has been a spike in cases of pancytopenia 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).

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"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.

The RVC is running a survey of owners who think their cats may been affected.

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.

A Sainsbury's spokeswoman said: "We are supporting an investigation into a possible safety issue affecting cats.

"We are not willing to take any risks where the safety of our products is concerned and so we are voluntarily recalling these products and asking customers not to use them and to return the packs to their nearest Sainsbury's store for a full refund."

A Pets at Home spokesman said that it was aware of the rise in pancytopenia cases identified by the RVC.

"The health and wellbeing of pets is our top priority, which is why we are supporting the manufacturer's product recall of Ava and Applaws dry cat food ranges," the spokesperson said.

"This is a precautionary measure while further investigations are carried out and we are working closely with the Food Standards Agency, RVC and wider industry to determine the cause."

Products being recalled

Sainsbury's:

• Sainsburys Hypoallergenic Recipe complete dry cat food with salmon 1+years 800g

• Sainsburys Hypoallergenic Recipe complete dry cat food with chicken 1+years 800g

Pets at Home:

• Ava Kitten Chicken 300g and 2kg

• Ava Adult Chicken 300g, 2kg and 4kg

• Ava Adult Fish 2kg

• Ava Mature Chicken 7+ 2kg and 4kg

• Ava Senior Chicken 12+ 2kg

• Ava Sensitive Skin & Stomach 1.5kg

• Ava Weight Management 1.5kg

• Ava Hairball 1.5kg

• Ava Oral Care 1.5kg

• Ava British Shorthair 1.5kg

• Ava Persian 1.5kg

• Ava Maine Coon 1.5kg

Applaws products (best before date between December 2022 to June 2023 with a site reference code of GB218E5009):

• Applaws Cat Dry Chicken 400g, 2kg and 7.5kg

• Applaws Cat Dry Senior Chicken 400g, 2kg and 7.5kg

• Applaws Cat Dry Chicken & Salmon 400g, 2kg and 7.5kg

• Applaws Kitten Dry Chicken 400g, 2kg and 7.5kg

• Applaws Cat Dry Chicken & Lamb 400g, 2kg and 7.5kg

• Applaws Cat Dry Chicken & Duck 400g, 2kg and 7.5kg

• Applaws Cat Dry Ocean Fish 350g, 1.8kg and 6kg