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Cats can catch bird flu from their pet food. Here’s what to watch out for.

Doggone Well Staff by Doggone Well Staff
January 25, 2025
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Cats can catch bird flu from their pet food. Here’s what to watch out for.
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The current bird flu outbreak is sweeping through both wild and domestic birds throughout the U.S., but cats and, to a certain extent, dogs are vulnerable as well.

Certain types of pet food – namely, food that uses unpasteurized poultry, cattle or eggs – could be dangerous to cats, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Dogs can also be affected by certain pet food, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated that their symptoms are usually milder than those that affect cats.

“The U.S. (FDA) has determined that it is necessary for manufacturers of cat and dog foods … to reanalyze their food safety plans to include Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus (specifically H5N1),” the FDA stated in a release last week.

Here's what to know about the issue.

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Is bird flu infecting cats?

The FDA stated that, at the moment, it is following cases of bird flu in domestic and wild cats in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington State “that are associated with eating contaminated food products.”

Though the incidents happened in the western part of the country, it rings an alarm bell for the rest of the U.S.

In a release, the FDA stated, “Scientific information is evolving, but at this time it is known that H5N1 can be transmitted to cats and dogs when they eat products from infected poultry or cattle (unpasteurized milk, uncooked meat, or unpasteurized eggs) that have not undergone a processing step that is capable of inactivating the virus, such as pasteurizing, cooking or canning.”

“Cats (domestic and large felids) in particular can experience severe illness or death from infection with H5N1. Dogs can also contract H5N1, although they usually exhibit mild clinical signs and low mortality compared to cats,” the FDA said in a news release.

According to CNN, since 2022, more than 74 pet cats have tested positive for bird flu across the United States,” states data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

So far, it is only cat food that has been recalled by the FDA.

Milk can also be affected by bird flu, as cows are susceptible to the disease.

What kinds of cat food has been affected?

  • A brand called Northwest Naturals recalled a batch of its frozen turkey-based product, which killed a house cat in Oregon, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB).
  • Two cats in Los Angeles contracted the virus by drinking raw milk from the Raw Farm dairy in California's central valley, the OPB added.
  • Bird flu was also detected in Monarch Raw Pet Food product samples, according to DVM360, a veterinary news website.

“Manufacturers must conduct a reanalysis of their food safety plans,” the FDA stated in last week's release.

Cats are capable of catching bird flu from sick birds, say experts.

Can people catch bird flu from their cats?

According to the American Medical Association, there have been “no known cases of cat-to-human transmission during the current outbreak of (bird flu).”

What exactly is bird flu?

There are two kinds of bird flu — low pathogenic avian influenza and highly pathogenic avian influenza, the latter being the more dangerous strain. The current H5N1 strain is a dangerous one, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But cases of H5N1 in humans have been rare.

“While avian flu strains can sometimes infect people, only a small number of H5N1 cases have been reported in humans since 2022 – there have been none in Massachusetts,” DPH spokesperson Kathleen Conti said in an email back in May.

Can bird flu affect humans?

The first death from bird flu occurred in Louisiana at the beginning of January, and the victim “was over the age of 65 and was reported to have underlying medical conditions,” according to the Louisiana Department of Health.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that bird flu viruses “have caused mild to severe illness in infected humans,” and is most often contracted by contact with sick birds. Symptoms typically begin within two to eight days and often appear as the common flu. They include:

  • Cough
  • Fever
  • Sore throat
  • Muscle aches
  • Headaches
  • Shortness of breath

The disease can carry a high mortality in humans, though that is rare, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some antiviral drugs, if taken within two days of symptoms, may help.

Is there bird flu in Massachusetts?

According to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), “Massachusetts has been dealing with an ongoing outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A (HPAI) H5N1 virus since early 2022.”

In March 2024, the virus was detected in a “backyard flock,” – or personally-owned – gaggle of birds in Essex, according to DPH. However, no infections have been reported in commercial flocks in any New England states since February 2022, according to Wicked Local media partner WCVB Channel 5.

When the virus was detected in backyard flock, the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources maintained that it was “advising backyard and commercial poultry owners to practice strong biosecurity measures to prevent domestic poultry from having contact with wild birds, their feathers, and droppings.”



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