A house cat in Washington County, Oregon, died on December 24 after consuming raw frozen pet food contaminated with the H5N1 bird flu virus, confirmed the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Oregon State University.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) issued a statement revealing that the Morasch Meat’s Northwest Natural brand 2 lb. Turkey Recipe raw and frozen pet food tested positive for the highly contagious H5N1 bird flu virus.
“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” said ODA State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholtz. “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 the infected cat were exact matches.”
In response, Morasch Meats, a Portland-based company, is voluntarily recalling its Northwest Naturals brand 2 lb. Feline Turkey Recipe raw and frozen pet food. The affected product, sold nationwide and in British Columbia, Canada, is packaged in 2-pound plastic bags with “Best if used by” dates of 05/21/26 B10 and 06/23/2026 B1.
The Oregon Health Authority and local public health officials are actively monitoring members of the household who had contact with the cat for any signs of illness.
As of now, no human cases of bird flu have been linked to this incident, and authorities maintain that the transmission of bird flu to humans remains low.
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