Raw and frozen pet food that tested positive for the bird flu is being recalled after a house cat consumed it and died.
Northwest Naturals’ two-pound Feline Turkey Recipe was found to be contaminated with the H5N1 strain of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) on Thursday.
An indoor cat that ate the food died, and testing by several agencies including the US Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed a genetic match of the viruses in the feline and the product.
‘We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,’ stated 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.’
The cat’s owners are being monitored by health officials for bird flu symptoms.
No human cases have been linked to the incident so far.
The Oregon-based pet food maker is voluntarily recalling the product that came in plastic bags with best by dates from May 21, 2026 to June 23, 2026.
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