Cats still died months af ter they stopped eating ‘poison’ food
DEATHS linked to the cat food ‘poisoning’ scandal hit 340 yesterday as cases emerged of pets falling victim months after they stopped eating the brands.
Figures from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC) showed fatalities were up by ten in a week – but the true total is feared to be far higher due to undocumented cases.
It comes amid worrying revelations that symptoms of the deadly illness, pancytopenia, may only emerge weeks after cats have stopped eating the foods.
Owners may also only learn there is an issue with the recalled food when they look to buy more and find it is no longer available.
Joanna Michael, 50, lost her beloved nine-year-old tabby Cameron on Saturday despite binning Pets at Home’s AVA when it was recalled on June 15.
A distressing video shows him gasping for breath before he had to be put down despite having been ‘fit and healthy’ just 48 hours earlier.
A direct link has not yet been proven between recalled brands Applaws, AVA and Sainsbury’s hypoallergenic recipe – all made by Fold Hill Foods – but the RVC and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are investigating.
Mrs Michael, a bookkeeper who lives with her stonemason husband Ian, 61, in Childswickham, Worcestershire, said: ‘I only gave Cameron that food for two weeks.
‘It didn’t cross my mind to get him checked when the recall was issued. He’d not even had half of the bag and was perfectly healthy.’
Cameron was taken to the vets on Friday after he stopped eating. He was given steroids but deteriorated rapidly overnight. Vets later diagnosed him with pancytopenia – when
‘Fit and healthy two days before’
blood cell count falls rapidly. ‘There was no doubt in the vet’s mind it was the food,’ Mrs Michael said.
‘She said it can take months to appear and he had all the symptoms... We had to make the decision to put him down. It has been awful.’
Mrs Michael added: ‘Someone needs to be held accountable for this.’ It comes as a doctor blasted the FSA for ‘dragging their feet’ after she worked out the ‘source’ of her cat’s death was the food.
Dr Belinda Adams, 36, stopped feeding her six kittens Applaws after their mother, Coco, died, but they fell ill two weeks later and she was forced to euthanise half the litter.
She had used her medical training to pinpoint that Coco’s food was the likely cause for her death on May 28 and within 72 hours found 13 other cases using social media.
But despite the RVC notifying the FSA about an increase in cases on May 24, the government regulator took three weeks to issue a recall.
Dr Adams, who lives with her husband Christopher, 44, in Nunhead, south-east London, said: ‘I think the FSA have been very slow on this. They have been dragging their feet.’ She added: ‘I messaged people on social media and within a few days had established a link between this brand of food and the illness. Why were we able to do this, but the FSA couldn’t?’
The FSA said: ‘We continue to work with [the RVC] and other regulators to investigate, including undertaking wider sampling and broader screening for any possible toxins.’
Fold Hill Foods said: ‘We continue to fully co-operate with both the FSA and the RVC as they continue to investigate all potential causes of the pancytopenia cases.’
Pets at Home is working with experts to find the illness’s source and Sainsbury’s supports the inquiry.