Health officials link multiple cat H5N1 deaths to raw pet food and unpasteurized milk
- CDC detailed a Los Angeles County cluster in which 19 cats got sick after eating raw animal products, and one exposed veterinary worker later showed H5N1 infection. - The sharpest proof came earlier in Oregon — officials found an exact genetic match between H5N1 in a dead indoor cat and Northwest Naturals raw food. - The bigger shift is regulatory: FDA now tells pet-food makers using raw poultry or unpasteurized dairy to treat H5N1 as a foreseeable hazard.
Raw pet food is turning into a very concrete bird-flu problem for cats — not a theoretical one. Over the past several months, health officials have tied multiple feline H5N1 infections and deaths to raw milk, raw meat, and commercial raw pet food. The newest piece is bigger than a single sick pet: CDC just laid out a Los Angeles County cluster that also included a likely cat-to-human transmission event in a veterinary worker. ### What actually happened in the cat cluster? Between November 2024 and January 2025, 19 domestic cats in Los Angeles County became ill after consuming commercially purchased raw milk, raw meat, or raw pet food. Nine of those cats tested positive for H5N1. Public health teams then identified 139 people who had been exposed to the infected cats and monitored them for symptoms. ### Why are officials taking this so seriously? (cdc.gov) Because this stopped looking like a food-safety issue that only affects pets. CDC said one asymptomatic veterinary professional later had serologic evidence of H5N1 infection after occupational exposure to an infected cat. That does not mean cats are suddenly driving a human outbreak — but it does mean sick cats can be part of the transmission chain. ### Where did the strongest evidence come from? (cdc.gov) Oregon gave investigators the cleanest smoking gun. In December 2024, the Oregon Department of Agriculture said a Washington County indoor cat died after eating Northwest Naturals 2-pound Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food. Genome sequencing showed the virus in the cat and the virus in the food were exact matches. That matters because the cat was indoors, so the usual “maybe it caught it outside” explanation basically fell apart. ### Was raw milk part of this too? Yes — and it was deadly. Los Angeles County said five confirmed H5 bird flu cases in cats were linked to recalled raw milk for human consumption, and all five of those cats died. The county also confirmed two raw-pet-food-linked cat cases and said additional probable and suspected cases were under investigation. One raw pet food, Monarch Raw Pet Food, tested positive for live, infective H5N1 virus. (apps.oregon.gov) ### Why are cats getting hit harder than dogs? Cats seem unusually vulnerable to H5N1. FDA says cats can develop severe illness or die after eating infected poultry or cattle products that have not gone through a kill step like cooking, canning, or pasteurization. Dogs can get infected too, but FDA says they generally show milder illness and lower mortality. (publichealth.lacounty.gov) ### What changed on the regulatory side? In January 2025, FDA told cat and dog food manufacturers using uncooked or unpasteurized poultry- or cattle-derived ingredients that they need to reanalyze their food safety plans and treat H5N1 as a known or reasonably foreseeable hazard. That is a meaningful shift. It means the agency no longer treats bird flu in raw pet food as an edge case — it expects companies to plan for it. (fda.gov) ### Is the Albright’s recall part of the same story? Only loosely. Albright’s Raw Pet Food recalled one lot of its chicken recipe for dogs on May 6, 2026, but that recall was for possible Salmonella contamination, not H5N1. It still fits the broader warning around raw pet products — they can carry pathogens that sicken pets and people — but it is a separate incident. (fda.gov) ### So what should pet owners do now? The practical advice is blunt: do not feed cats raw milk, raw poultry, raw meat, or raw pet food. If you already have recalled product, throw it out safely and clean bowls, utensils, counters, and storage areas. And if a cat suddenly develops fever, lethargy, trouble breathing, tremors, seizures, or severe neurologic signs after eating raw animal products, call a veterinarian fast. (fda.gov) ### Bottom line The story here is not “raw diets are controversial.” It is simpler than that. Officials now have repeated cat deaths, live virus in some products, an exact food-to-cat genetic match in Oregon, and a likely human infection after exposure to a sick cat. For cats, raw animal products have become a very avoidable H5N1 risk. (cdc.gov)
