A voluntary recall of raw and frozen cat food has been issued in Oregon after a cat that died of bird flu was linked to the product, state officials have said.
Northwest Naturals has instructed customers of its Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food to throw out the product if its sell-by date falls between 21 May 2026 and 23 June 2026.
The company said on its website the batch of cat food, which was sold across the US, tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), more commonly known as bird flu.
“Consumption of raw or uncooked pet food contaminated with HPAI can cause illness in animals. To date, one case of illness in a domestic cat has been reported in connection with this issue,” the company said.
The Oregon agriculture department issued a notice saying that tests confirmed a genetic match between the virus in the raw and frozen pet food and the infected cat.
“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” said Dr Ryan Scholz, an ODA state veterinarian.
“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,” Scholtz added.
Oregon health officials said that, to date, no human cases of HPAI have been linked to this incident, and the risk of HPAI transmission to humans remains low in the state.
But the agency also advised against people and their pets to avoid consuming raw or undercooked meat products, raw dairy products, limit contact with sick or dead animals, and to keep pets or poultry away from wild waterfowl.
Dozens of people have been infected with the H5N1 virus across the US, with the first “severe case” reported in Louisiana 10 days ago. California has declared a state of emergency as the spread among livestock has begun to affect the US food supply.
On Tuesday, 20 exotic cats, including a Bengal tiger, four cougars, a lynx and four bobcats, were reported to have died after contracting bird flu at an animal sanctuary in Shelton, Washington.
Last week, health officials in Los Angeles said they were investigating three household cats presumed to have bird flu, as officials confirmed the disease in two other cats who died after drinking raw milk linked to Raw Farm, a dairy in Fresno, California, that was subject to a recall of raw milk and cream products last month.
The H5N1 infection in cats is alarming to virus experts; a recent study found that cat cells allow viruses to mix and mutate, potentially providing a bridge that allows the H5N1 bird flu to mutate and jump to humans.
A study, published in the academic journal Emerging Microbes & Infections, found that cats, like pigs, had cellular receptors which allow them to act as “mixing vessels for reassortment of avian and mammalian influenza viruses”.
Furthermore, cats which had recently died of H5N1 bird flu were found to have “unique mutations” suggestive of “potential virus adaptation”.
“The continued exposure, viral circulation, and adaptation of the H5N1 virus in cats raise significant concerns for transmission and public health,” the authors of the University of Pittsburgh report said.
Cats, they added, frequently interact with humans and other species and could therefore “serve as a bridge for cross-species transmission of H5N1 viruses”.
In April, Maryland’s school of public health warned that a review of scientific literature suggests domestic cats can get bird flu and transmit it to humans, and should be monitored.
“As companion animals, domestic cats provide a potential pathway for avian influenza viruses to spill over into humans,” said Kristen Coleman, an assistant professor at the school.
