Ayr MSP, Siobhian Brown, is warning cat owners to be on their guard after being contacted by local constituents who have lost their pets to an outbreak of a deadly disease.
Siobhian Brown MSP visited local Cattery, Belleayr, in Ayr to learn about the disease that is affecting cats from the fatal Pancytopenia disease. It emerged last month that there was a recall on some brands of cat foods sold by major retailers such as Pets at Home and Sainsburys.
The owner, Kristina Macauley, of the Cattery lost one of the kittens last month to the fatal disease.
“Our beloved Kitten, Belle Ayr White Cloud (aka Mia) passed away on the 17th June after a weeklong brave battle with Pancytopenia, she was fed on the recalled Applaws kitten food for 2 months alongside a different brand wet food. She became in appetent and lethargic on the Wednesday and was immediately taken to the vets the following morning expecting she needed antibiotics for some kind of infection only to be told she was unlikely to survive once they ran her bloods. After that she was admitted to RVC hospital with a poor prognosis. She tried her best to hang on but she started to struggle to breathe. We have been left in shock as she was only 9 months and was an amazing kitten. She was smart, playful, inquisitive and very loving and adventurous. She had a loving family and we still can’t believe she has actually gone”.
“I want to raise awareness over this deadly disease and close to 500 cats have been diagnosed with the illness which causes depletion of both white and red blood cells, leading to bleeding, anaemia and clotting problems and making them more susceptible to infection. Cat owners should look out for fatigue and fever as symptoms” Kristina warned
In a statement the Foods Standard Agency warned “if you have bought any of the below products you should stop feeding them to your cat. If you have bought an AVA product you should contact Pets at Home and if you have bought Appslaw product you should contact Sainsburys.
If cat owners are concerned about the health of their pet they should contact their local vet. Further information on the recalled is available on the Food Standards Agency at