Local vet explains bird flu risk to pet owners

BOONE COUNTY, Ky. (WKRC) – The number of dead birds potentially linked to bird flu was increasing in southwest Ohio, raising concerns among pet owners, particularly those with outdoor cats.

Dr. Nicholas Ballaban Prather, a veterinarian with Middendorf Animal Hospital and Laser Centre in Boone County emphasized the importance of vigilance for pet and animal owners during this time.

“There was a story that cats were drinking unpasteurized milk from dairy cattle up north and a large number of them actually passed away,” said Dr. Prather.

He advised pet owners to remain alert but not to panic.

With the growing popularity of backyard chicken raising, Dr. Prather urged owners to closely monitor their flocks, as the virus is often deadly to birds.

“Usually it's massive die-off storms and the ones that do survive tend to have pretty bad respiratory disease. Survival is not usually something that we see,” he said.

Dr. Prather highlighted the risk to cats, noting that the safest option is to keep them indoors.

“The idea of a cat being exposed to all the geese that we have here, respiratory tract is trying to hunt them or even if one is deceased and then consuming the carcass, that would be a risk for contracting HPAI,” he said.

For any sick animal or pet, Dr. Prather recommended isolating them as quickly as possible. He also suggested removing bird feeders and bird baths to reduce the risk of spreading the virus.

“If we bring a bunch of birds together, more likely in areas because in the wild especially birds that aren't going to be together more often as if you have a feeder or a bath, we bring them together more often than we're going to increase the risk of spreading it especially because it is spread by mucosal secretions of the respiratory tract and the oral tract as well,” he said.

Dr. Prather noted that the virus has been detected in hunting dogs after they have chased down birds, though dogs do not seem to be affected in the same way as cats and other birds. However, he cautioned that only a few mutations could change that.

Residents were advised not to touch groups of dead birds and to report them to their state wildlife agency.

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