When Tim Hanson fed his cats a premium raw chicken pet food, bird flu was the last thing on his mind.
“You go to the pet shop, and it was the premium raw food,” he said. “It was finely ground, and I thought it would be good for my cats.”
But in early February, his cat Kira developed a fever and stopped eating. A test confirmed she had H5N1 bird flu. Her condition worsened quickly—she became lethargic and had trouble breathing. Despite several trips to vets and an emergency animal hospital in Portland, Oregon, Hanson ultimately had to put her down.
“She was the happiest cat I’ve ever had,” he said. “Even in the hospital, she rolled onto her back so we could rub her belly.”
Kira had eaten food made by Wild Coast Pet Foods. After her death, the company recalled some lots of the product due to potential bird flu contamination. Earlier this month, Hanson filed a lawsuit against the company, claiming it failed to warn about the risk of infection from its raw pet food. He is seeking about $8,000 to cover Kira’s medical bills. Wild Coast has not responded to requests for comment but said in a letter to customers it has since switched to using fully cooked poultry in its recipes.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 126 domestic cats in the U.S. have tested positive for bird flu since 2022. About half of those cases occurred this year, often linked to contaminated food or raw milk.
Dr. Suresh Kuchipudi, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh, said bird flu in cats is typically fast and fatal. While the risk to indoor cats remains low, the spread of the virus among poultry and cattle increases the chances it could enter pet food supplies.
“We keep seeing more reports of infected cats, and it’s been going up in recent months,” Kuchipudi said. “We don’t yet have evidence that cats can pass it to humans, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened—or couldn’t.”
Experts continue to monitor the situation as cases rise, warning pet owners to be cautious about feeding raw meat to animals during the ongoing outbreaks.
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