Bird Flu and your cat

Don’t feed your cats, raw pet food.

Since the H5N1 outbreak started among dairy cows and birds in the U.S., dozens of cats have been infected, including farm cats, house cats, and big cats at the zoo. While the main exposure has been from drinking raw milk, a new pathway has been discovered: raw food. Raw pet food sometimes includes raw meat, like chicken.

Two brands have been linked thus far to sick cats:                         Monarch Raw Pet Food                        
Northwest Naturals

Cats are at a particularly high risk of H5N1 (bird flu), which causes a fatality rate of more than 50%. Can H5N1 be passed from cats to humans? It’s possible, but there have been no known cases thus far.