Pet food linked to bird flu in cats, recalled

December 26, 2024

By KAREN VELIE

An indoor cat died from bird flu it contracted after consuming raw pet food from Northwest Naturals that was contaminated with the virus,  the Oregon Department of Agriculture announced Thursday. The pet food was sold at multiple Central Coast locations.

Northwest Naturals is recalling its 2-pound bags of Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food with best of use dates of May 21, 2026 and June 23, 2026.

The pet food brand is sold at Maddie Mae’s Pet Pantry in Cambria, Templeton and Pismo Beach and the Montecito Pet Shop in Santa Barbara, according to the company’s website.

“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” said Oregon Department of Agriculture State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz. “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.”