What to Know About Cat Food Recall After Pet Dies of Bird Flu in Oregon

A favored feline successful Oregon has died from vertebrate flu aft eating earthy feline nutrient that tested affirmative for H5N1. It’s the latest worrying improvement successful the ongoing dispersed of vertebrate flu among animals and humans this year.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) announced the cat’s decease Thursday. The decease comes aft a bird flu outbreak at Washington’s Wild Felid Advocacy Center this month. The outbreak killed 20 large cats, including African servals, bobcats, and cougars.

According to ODA officials, the location feline tested affirmative for a H5N1 strain of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influence, oregon HPAI, that was genetically identical to viruses recovered successful samples of earthy and frozen favored nutrient sold by the institution Northwest Naturals. While nary quality cases tied to the favored nutrient person emerged arsenic of yet, the institution has issued a voluntary callback of its affected products.

“We are assured that this feline contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals earthy and frozen favored food,” said ODA State Veterinarian Ryan Scholz successful a section statement. “This feline was strictly an indoor cat; it was not exposed to the microorganism successful its environment, and results from the genome sequencing confirmed that the microorganism recovered from the earthy favored nutrient and infected feline were nonstop matches to each other.”

Northwest Naturals has issued a voluntary callback of its Northwest Naturals marque 2lb Feline Turkey Recipe earthy & frozen favored food. The institution is specifically recalling its 2-pound integrative bags with “Best if utilized by” dates of 05/21/26 B10 and 06/23/2026 B1. The products were sold nationwide successful the U.S.

H5N1 vertebrate flu has go an superior nationalist wellness interest lately, acknowledgment to continued outbreaks successful chaotic birds and poultry, arsenic good arsenic the emergence of H5N1 and different avian influenza strains successful dairy cows and different mammals this year.

As of early December, outbreaks of H5N1 among dairy cows person occurred successful 16 states this year. More than 60 quality cases of H5N1 successful the U.S. person been documented successful 2024, astir linked to interaction with infected cows oregon poultry. Cats, too, person been caught successful the crossfire. There person been respective outbreaks of vertebrate flu among some home cats and chaotic large cats astatine zoos and carnal sanctuaries this year, successful the U.S. and elsewhere.

H5N1 cases successful home cats person mostly been traced backmost to cats drinking contaminated unpasteurized, oregon raw, milk, either portion living connected dairy farms oregon from drinking commercially sold products. Plenty of probe has indicated that earthy beverage tin beryllium a viable transmission route for spreading vertebrate flu to humans arsenic well. There person been other caller cases of H5N1 successful cats traced backmost to improperly sterilized earthy food, though this appears to beryllium the archetypal specified lawsuit detected successful the U.S.

The metallic lining is that nary different H5N1 cases person been tied backmost to the Oregon feline oregon to the favored nutrient (one quality lawsuit of H5N1 was reported successful the authorities this year, though it wasn’t connected to dairy cows oregon milk). On December 11, Oregon’s Department of Agriculture announced that it would trial beverage from each commercialized dairy successful the authorities arsenic a precautionary measurement against the dispersed of vertebrate flu; that determination came connected the heels of hundreds of confirmed vertebrate flu cases crossed 16 states, including from dairy cattle herds successful Idaho, Nevada, and California.

While quality cases of H5N1 this twelvemonth person mostly been mild truthful acold (though not all), immoderate probe has suggested that H5N1 is particularly unsafe to felines. And the longer these viruses are allowed to circulate betwixt cows, cats, humans, and different mammals, the greater the hazard that a nightmare, pandemic-ready strain volition yet emerge—one that tin dispersed rapidly betwixt humans and origin wide illness and death.

H5N1 isn’t the lone imaginable information that mightiness travel from eating earthy favored food, Oregon wellness officials note. These products besides person a higher hazard of containing different nasty germs specified arsenic Salmonella, Listeria, and E. coli bacteria.