By Molly Goddard
11:33am PST, Jan 24, 2025
According to
Jim Keen, DVM, director of vet sciences at the Center for a Humane Economy in Maryland, if your kitty is infected, they will exhibit respiratory and neurological
symptoms.
The expert told
Fox News Digital cats are "extremely susceptible" to the current variant, which is spreading throughout waterfowl and domestic poultry.
Researchers found kitties can come into contact with the disease through infected wild birds or poultry, dead or alive.
If cats drink
milk instead of water, they can get the illness through infected dairy cattle. They can also come into contact with it if they happen to eat raw poultry or raw cat food.
"Outdoor cats, feral cats and wild cats may kill and eat wild birds that are sick with bird flu," Keen explained.
While no dogs in America have been infected, puppies in other parts of the world haven't been as lucky. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there have been cases of canines in different countries getting sick, but they have exhibited mild symptoms and low mortality rates.
For concerned owners, Keen confirmed commercial cat food that does not contain raw poultry products "should be safe" for consumption. However, always be sure to check the ingredients on the label.
On January 17, the FDA warned animal
food manufacturers who use uncooked or unpasteurized ingredients from poultry or cattle to "reanalyze their food safety plans" and recognize avian flu as a "known or reasonably foreseeable hazard."
"The FDA is tracking cases of H5N1 in domestic and wild
cats in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington that are associated with eating contaminated food products," the message read.
Chief of veterinary behavior medicine at Heart of Chelsea Veterinary Group in New York Dr.
Andrea Y. Tu emphasized how the lack of regulations in the food our furry friends consume has been an issue for quite some time.
"The medical community … does not recommend raw foods. And especially now with the risk of the highly pathogenic avian influenza, we do have evidence showing this is not safe," she noted.
Tu recommends keeping your cats indoors to reduce their risk of coming into contact with birds. However, even if you keep your felines close, remain cautious.
"This virus has been reported in house mice as well," she revealed. "Cats are going to hunt, so trying to keep them away from
undocumented sources of food is probably my top recommendation. If you are cooking your own food at home for your pets, make sure it is heated up to a temperature of 165 degrees."
