Bird Flu In NYC House Cats Linked To Pet Food, Officials Say

NEW YORK CITY, NY — Health officials have linked raw pet food to two confirmed cases of bird flu found in house cats in New York City.

In a statement released Saturday, the New York City Department of Health said both cases, as well as a suspected third case, were connected to Savage Cat Food poultry packets. Officials said the packets bore lot number 11152026.

Consumers were urged to check their pantries for the affected product. Officials said the information was shared with the pet food company and the Food and Drug Administration.

“We strongly encourage New Yorkers whose cats are experiencing illness after consuming Savage Cat Food products or other raw meat or dairy products to contact their veterinarian,” NYC Health Department Acting Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse said in a statement.

Morse continued, “The current risk to New Yorkers of bird flu remains low. Bird flu viruses present a wider risk to the general public only if the virus develops the ability to transmit between people — which we have not seen at this time.”

According to officials, the first cat became ill this month and was hospitalized with fever, loss of appetite and severe respiratory disease following consumption of the chicken packets.

Testing for bird flu was performed at the Cornell Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and confirmed by the U.S.D.A. The cat died as a result of the infection, officials said.

A second cat was diagnosed with bird flu, and testing was confirmed by NVSL last month. The cat developed a fever and severe respiratory and liver disease, officials said. It also died as a result of the infection.

While the second cat did not consume the affected raw food product, officials said it was exposed to a third sick cat, which became ill with a fever after consuming Savage Cat Food.

Officials said the third cat survived and bird flu testing was not performed due to the amount of time that has passed since infection.

According to NYC health officials, pet owners should do the following:

• Avoid feeding pets raw food or raw milk.
• If you pet has eaten raw food and shows sign of sickness, call your vet immediately and isolate from other pets.
• Keep your cats indoors.
• If you are walking your dog, avoid dead or sick animals.

The U. S. Food and Drug Administration has been monitoring reports of bird flu in cats in other states, including California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington that consumed contaminated food products. Bird flu can be transmitted to cats when they eat products like raw pet food and treats, raw milk and raw poultry made from infected poultry or cattle.