Northwest Naturals issued a voluntary recall of a batch of pet food after a cat died of bird flu in Oregon, officials said.
Testing by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories and the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory confirmed that an indoor cat in Oregon’s Washington County contracted bird flu and died after eat the pet food.
“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” said Dr. Ryan Scholz, Oregon Department of Agriculture state veterinarian, in a statement Tuesday. “This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not exposed to the virus in its environment, and the genome sequencing results confirmed that the virus recovered from the raw pet food and the infected cat were exact matches” .
Can pets spread bird flu to owners?
Oregon officials are monitoring household members who had contact with the cat for flu symptoms, but no human cases of bird flu had been identified as of Tuesday, and the risk of transmission to humans remains low in the state
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said yes A pet owner is unlikely to get bird flu through direct contact with an infected pet, but it is possible. The health agency noted that in 2016, the spread of bird flu from a cat to a person was reported in New York City. The infected individual, a veterinarian, developed mild flu-like symptoms after prolonged exposure to sick cats without wearing personal protective equipment.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture said the cat’s death is a reminder that feeding raw meat products to pets can lead to illness.
What to do if you bought the pet food
Northwest Naturals advised pet owners Tuesday to discard 2-pound bags of Feline Turkey Recipe Raw Frozen Pet Food, marked best if used by dates of 05/21/26 B10 and on 23/06/2026 B1. The product was sold in a dozen states and Canada.
The pet food was sold through distributors in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington. The food was also sold in British Columbia in Canada.
Customers can contact the place of purchase for a full refund.
Cats vulnerable to bird flu
Cats are particularly vulnerable to bird flu, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
“Cats are particularly vulnerable to this virus, which can cause subtle initial symptoms but progress rapidly, often leading to death within 24 hours from pneumonia-like conditions,” the statement said, adding that the center was under quarantine and will remain closed to the public. public until further notice.
California health officials this year launched an investigation after that two cats died of suspected bird flu after giving him raw milk. And in Texas, cats on a farm died after drinking raw milk from cows infected with bird flu.