Urgent recall of cat food from Applaws, AVA and Sainsbury’s

Saturday 19 June 2021

An outbreak of a rare condition that causes severe illness in cats has led to multiple brands of cat food being urgently recalled, some of which are sold locally or can be purchased online.

Fold Hill Foods is voluntarily recalling a number of its cat food products, from brands Applaws, AVA and Sainsbury’s, over possible links to an outbreak of a potentially fatal condition - feline pancytopenia.

The manufacturer has taken this precautionary measure after the Royal Veterinary College reported a sudden increase in severe cases of the condition. Pancytopenia causes the number of blood cells to rapidly decrease, leading to serious and often fatal illness.

Steve Byrne GSPCA Manager said the shelter has itself received batches of some of the food products listed, which the animal charity has disposed of. 

“The illness is pancytopenia is usually a very rare condition, where the number of blood cells rapidly decrease, which leads to serious illness such as anemia, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia”

“This means pancytopenia can often prove to be fatal. If you have purchased any of these cat feeds please contact your retailer and if you have fed any to your cat and have any concerns contact your vet immediately.”

Only those products with the specific best before dates below are being recalled. No other cat food products have been affected by this recall.

Applaws cat food recall:

• Applaws Cat Dry Chicken 400g, 2.5kg and 7.5kg. Best before: all date codes

• Applaws Cat Dry Chicken & Salmon 400g, 2.5kg and 7.5kg. Best before: all date codes

• Applaws Kitten Dry Chicken 400g, 2.5kg and 7.5kg. Best before: all date codes

• Applaws Cat Dry Chicken & Lamb 400g, 2.5kg and 7.5kg. Best before: all date codes

• Applaws Cat Dry Chicken & Duck 400g, 2.5kg and 7.5kg. Best before: all date codes

• Applaws Cat Dry Ocean Fish 350g, 1.8kg and 6kg. Best before: all date codes

• Applaws Cat Dry Senior Chicken 400g, 2kg and 7.5kg. Best before: all date codes By

Sainsbury’s cat food recall:

• By Sainsbury’s Hypoallergenic Recipe complete dry cat food with Salmon 1+ Years 800g. All batches and best before dates

• By Sainsbury’s Hypoallergenic Recipe complete dry cat food with Chicken 1+ Years 800g. All batches and best before dates

AVA cat food recall:

• AVA Adult Fish 2kg. All batches and best before dates

• AVA Adult Mature Chicken 7+ 2kg and 4kg. All batches and best before dates

• AVA Senior Chicken 12+ 2kg. All batches and best before dates

• AVA Sensitive Skin & Stomach 1.5kg. All batches and best before dates

• AVA Weight Management 1.5kg. All batches and best before dates

• AVA Hairball 1.5kg. All batches and best before dates

• AVA Oral Care 1.5kg. All batches and best before dates

• AVA British Shorthair 1.5kg. All batches and best before dates

• AVA Persian 1.5kg. All batches and best before dates

• AVA Maine Coon 1.5kg. All batches and best before dates

• AVA Kitten Chicken 300g and 2kg. All batches and best before dates

• AVA Adult Chicken 300g, 2kg and 4kg. All batches and best before dates

What do I do if cat food I’ve bought has been recalled?

If you have bought any of the above products, you should stop feeding them to your cat immediately and return the food to your nearest store for a full refund.

If your cat has already eaten the food and you’re concerned about their health, then you should seek immediate advice from your vet.

Symptoms to look out for include:

• Fatigue Loss of appetite

• Spontaneous bleeding (eg nose bleeds, bleeding gums)

• Spontaneous bruising

• Pale gums

• Pin-prick rash of blood spots

A spokesperson for the Royal Veterinary College said: "We welcome the Food Standards Agency’s product recall notice. While we have not definitively established diet as the cause of pancytopenia in these cats, we are continuing to liaise with the pet food industry and regulatory bodies to investigate the matter and identify the possible underlying causes."