Pet food brand issues recall over bird flu contamination

Northwest Naturals issued a voluntary recall for a batch of pet food after a cat died of bird flu in Oregon, officials said. 

Testing done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratories and the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory confirmed an indoor cat in Oregon's Washington County contracted bird flu and died after eating the pet food. 

"We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food," Oregon Department of Agriculture State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz said in a Tuesday release. "This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not exposed to the virus in its environment, and results from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the raw pet food and infected cat were exact matches to each other."

Can pets transmit bird flu to owners? 

Oregon officials are monitoring household members who had contact with the cat to see if they develop any flu symptoms, but no human cases of bird flu were identified as of Tuesday and the risk of transmission to humans remains low in the state.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that it's unlikely for a pet owner to get sick with 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, had mild flu symptoms after prolonged exposure to sick cats without using personal protective equipment.

Oregon's Department of Agriculture said the cat death is a reminder that giving raw meat products to pets can lead to illness.

What to do if you bought the pet food

Northwest Naturals on Tuesday advised pet owners to ditch 2-pound bags of Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food, marked with best if used by dates of 05/21/26 B10 and 06/23/2026 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 resulting in death within 24 hours due to pneumonia-like conditions," the statement said, adding the center was under quarantine and will remain closed to the public until further notice.

Health officials in California this year launched an investigation after two cats died from suspected bird flu after being given raw milk. And in Texas, cats at a farm died after drinking raw milk from bird flu-infected cows.