flickr photo courtesy of Hatsuki Maruyama

In a release issued on Feb. 28, Wellpet LLC announced that they are voluntarily recalling certain lots of canned food for felines, not due to contamination, but due to inadequate levels of thiamine, more commonly known as Vitamin B1.

Samples from recent laboratory tests revealed that some lots of canned food may contain levels of thiamine that are less than is optimal, after a single, isolated consumer complaint was received by The Food and Drug Administration

The FDA posted a press release on their website detailing the recall, as did the company.

Thiamine is essential for cats, and deficient amounts can result in gastrointestinal and neurological symptoms.

Cats fed a diet that is doesn't contain enough thiamine over several weeks may exhibit
a decreased appetite, salivation, vomiting, and weight loss. In more profound cases, felines may present with vestibular (balance) problems, characterized by a wobbly gait, circling around and in some cases, falling.

The lots cited in the recall are:

Wellness Canned Cat Chicken & Herring (all sizes) with best by date of 10NOV13 and 17NOV13.The company urges that if you have cat food from these lots, you should stop feeding it to your cats and call at 877-227-9587 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Eastern Time. Consumers with further questions should visit the company's website at www.wellnesspetfood.com or call the number listed above.

As always, you can stay up-to-date on all animal food recalls on AnnArbor.com's pet section.

Lorrie Shaw is lead pets blogger for AnnArbor.com and gets to spend her days as a dog walker and pet sitter in the Ann Arbor area. Follow her daily pet adventures on Twitter.