House Cat Dies After Eating Raw Pet Food Contaminated With HPAI H5N1
Image credit: Freepik
After a house cat died from eating raw frozen pet food contaminated with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 (HPAI H5N1), the pet food manufacturer issued a voluntary recall, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA).
Shortly after, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH) warned consumers not to feed their pets raw food after linking a laboratory-confirmed case of HPAI H5N1 in a California house cat to raw food sold at a farmer's market.
Oregon House Cat Dies From Consuming HPAI-Contaminated Raw Food
The pet cat in Oregon was fed Northwest Naturals 2-pound (lb.) Turkey Recipe raw and frozen pet food. Testing conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories (USDA’s NVSL) and the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (ODVL) at Oregon State University revealed HPAI H5N1 in the pet food, which genetically matched the clinical isolate from the sickened cat.
Northwest Naturals, based in Portland, Oregon, voluntary recalled its 2 lb. Feline Turkey Recipe raw and frozen pet food. The recalled product is packaged in 2 lb. plastic bags with “Best if Used By” dates of “05/21/26 B10” and “06/23/2026 B1.” The product was distributed to Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington, as well as to British Columbia, Canada.
The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and local public health officials are monitoring household members who had contact with the cat for flu symptoms. To date, no human cases of HPAI have been linked to this incident.
California Cat Illnesses Caused by HPAI-Contaminated Raw Food, Possibly Raw Milk
LADPH reported a case of HPAI H5N1 infection in a house cat that consumed Monarch Raw Pet Food sold at several farmers markets in California. Another four cats from the same household also fell ill and are presumed to have contracted the virus from the same product. Locations where the product was sold can be found on the Monarch Raw Pet Food website.
Additionally, LADPH is investigating HPAI H5N1 infection in four house cats from a separate household that died after consuming raw milk.
Both LADPH and ODA are encouraging people not to eat or feed their pets raw or undercooked meat products, or raw dairy.
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