Oregon House Cat Succumbs After Consuming Pet Food Contaminated with Bird Flu

PORTLAND, Ore.—An Oregon cat has died after consuming pet food that tested positive for avian influenza, according to officials in Oregon, which has led to a nationwide recall of raw frozen pet food.

Northwest Naturals, a pet food producer located in Portland, Oregon, announced on Tuesday that it has voluntarily recalled a single batch of its two-pound Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food due to the detection of the virus. This product was distributed across states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin, as well as in British Columbia, Canada.

“We believe this cat contracted the H5N1 virus by consuming the Northwest Naturals raw pet food,” stated Dr. Ryan Scholz, the State Veterinarian for the Oregon Department of Agriculture, in a news release on Tuesday. “This cat was an exclusively indoor pet, with no exposure to the virus in its surroundings, and genome sequencing revealed that the virus from the infected cat exactly matched that from the raw pet food.”

The recalled product comes in two-pound plastic bags marked with “best if used by” dates of May 21, 2026, and June 23, 2026. Both the company and Oregon officials advised consumers who have purchased this recalled item to dispose of it immediately and return it to the point of sale for a refund.

While no human cases of bird flu have been associated with this incident, those who had contact with the cat are being watched for potential flu symptoms, reported Oregon authorities.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 60 individuals across eight states have been infected with mostly mild cases. However, one person in Louisiana has been hospitalized, marking the first documented severe case of the virus in the nation, health officials revealed last week.

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As of now, the CDC has confirmed one instance of human avian influenza in Oregon, with the individual linked to a previously noted outbreak at a commercial poultry facility and recovering fully after experiencing mild illness, as stated in a news release from the Oregon Health Authority in November.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported in late October that a pig on a private farm in Oregon had tested positive for bird flu, marking the virus’s first identification in U.S. swine.