California cat euthanized after getting bird flu from raw cat food

A California cat was sickened with bird flu after eating raw cat food and later had to be euthanized, according to a release from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA said the cat got sick after it ate a batch of RAWR Raw Cat Food Chicken Eats sliders that tested positive for a strain of the H5N1 avian influenza.

The strain was detected by San Francisco health officials in lots CCS 25 077 and CCS 25 093 of the cat food after genetic sequencing tests were performed to identify strains of bird flu, the FDA said. The agency first tested food from the same package as the food eaten by the sick cat, and then performed further testing on retail samples of the same product, which also turned up positive for the virus.

The FDA did not indicate whether any other cats have been sickened by the food, but said it was not aware of any humans contracting bird flu through exposure to the food.

RAWR Raw Cat Food Chicken Eats is sold in frozen, 2.5-pound resealable plastic bags and contains 40 one-ounce sliders. The plastic bags are yellow and white with black lettering. All packaging is marked with the corresponding lot code.

The FDA has not issued a recall of the cat food, but says it continues to investigate the situation. RAWR has removed the lots involved with the infection from circulation.

Bird flu can cause illness and death in house cats, as well as birds and other larger cats. Dogs can also get bird flu, but don’t experience intense symptoms or death at the same rate as cats, the FDA said.

Animals that are very young, very old or have weak immune systems are more susceptible to the virus, according to the FDA. Pet owners should seek veterinary care if their cat or dog exhibits any of the following symptoms: fever, lethargy, low appetite, reddened or inflamed eyes, discharge from eyes and nose, difficulty breathing, or any neurological symptoms including tremors, seizures, incoordination or blindness.

The FDA also recommended that people handling raw pet food should wash their hands afterwards and clean any surfaces the food touched.