In late December, a cat became infected with the avian flu and died after eating a raw frozen pet food by Northwest Naturals, a pet food company based in Oregon.
The company subsequently recalled a batch of their Feline Turkey Recipe raw food, which was sold in several states including California, Washington, and Oregon. The best-before dates for the affected batches were listed between May and June 2026.
State Veterinarian Ryan Scholz said they were ‘confident’ the house cat contracted H5N1 from consuming the raw pet food as they were ‘strictly indoors’ and ‘were not exposed to the virus’ outdoors.
The bird flu virus has since been found in another brand of raw pet food – Monarch Raw Pet Food, which is sold across California in farmers markets.
According to the Los Angeles department of public health, one house cat has tested positive for H5N1 while four others in the same household were exposed to the virus.
Health officials are now urging pet owners not to feed raw meat and raw milk products to their pets.
For years, cats have been at risk from avian flu. However, there were no confirmed cases in the U.S. until 2022.
By late 2024, more than 25 cases had been reported nationwide, said Dr. Jane Sykes, a professor of small animal internal medicine. She said most were cats that lived on dairy farms in Colorado and Texas, though some indoors cats also developed symptoms after being fed raw milk or food.
According to one survey, approximately two percent of pet owners feed their cats or dogs a commercial raw pet food diet.
While the animals may like the taste,, raw milk and meat are often contaminated with viruses and bacteria. This has led many pets to die from preventable diseases such as salmonella.
Traditional pet foods, on the other hand, are processed with heat, which kills any bacteria and viruses that are present.
While some pet owners believe freeze dried raw pet food is safer, the freezing process, which involves vacuuming out the water crystals after freezing, actually ‘preserves viruses‘, according to Dr. Scott Weese, a professor at the Ontario Veterinary College.
He added that many scientists actually freeze dry viruses so they can be studied later.
More Bird Flu Cases In Cats Expected
On December 20, 2024, officials in Los Angeles issued an advisory after four domestic cats became infected with the bird flu. Four had consumed raw milk, which was later recalled, while one ate frozen raw food from Northwest Naturals.
Eight additional house cats were affected in the week afterwards. In total, five died and seven became ill.
The connection between avian flu and raw pet food first came to light after the pet owner of the Oregon cat sent samples to the Oregon Agriculture Department, where it tested positive for the H5N1 virus.
Upon following up with the owner, the state veterinarian for the department Dr. Ryan Scholtz was able to test the raw food that the cat consumed prior to its death.
Lab results later confirmed that the food, which was manufactured by Northwest Naturals, was contaminated with the same bird flu virus that had caused illness in the cat. The frozen raw pet food was subsequently recalled by the company.
Scholtz believes there are likely more cats that have become ill after consuming the contaminated food. However, he notes that not every pet owner is willing to spend money ‘to get their dead cat tested’.
