PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A Portland-based pet food company issued a recall on one of its products after a cat in Washington County contracted bird flu and died after eating the food, the Oregon Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday.
Morasch Meats Northwest Naturals brand of Turkey Recipe raw and frozen pet food tested positive for a strain of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus, officials warned.
The recall comes after tests conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture and the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Oregon State University confirmed that a house cat in Washington County contracted the virus after eating the raw and frozen food and tests confirmed a genetic match between the virus in the food and the infected cat.
“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” said ODA 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.”
Portland-based Morasch Meats voluntarily recalled its Northwest Naturals brand pet food, which is packed in two-pound plastic bags with “Best if used by” dates of May 21, 2025, and June 23, 2026 B1.
The food was sold nationwide through distributors in the U.S. and British Columbia, Canada.
Pet owners are urged to immediately check their supplies and throw away the product, ODA said, noting consumers can contact Marasch Meats of Portland for additional questions.
Meanwhile, the Oregon Health Authority and local public health officials are monitoring the household members who had contact with the cat for flu symptoms.
To date, officials have not linked human cases of HPAI to this incident, noting the risk of HPAI transmission to humans is low in Oregon.
To avoid spread of HPAI, health officials urge people and their pets to avoid eating raw or undercooked meat, avoid consuming raw dairy, limiting contact with sick or dead animals, and washing hands after handling raw animal products or contact with sick or dead animals. Sick or dead birds can be reported to ODA, which also urges pet owners to keep pets away from wild waterfowl.
While Oregon has reported one confirmed human case of HPAI, ODA said there are no confirmed cases of the virus in dairy cows or cow milk.
As a precautionary measure, ODA launched a program earlier in December testing milk from every commercial dairy farm across the state.
This comes as states including Idaho, California, and Nevada have reported HPAI in dairy cattle herds, which has contributed to more than 700 confirmed cases of bird flu in 16 states.
