Veterinarians and animal advocates are urging pet owners to keep their cats inside and not to feed them raw pet food to protect them from bird flu. A handful of cats in the United States have been found dead due to avian influenza, a viral disease that historically only affected domestic poultry and wild birds, though some variants have been capable of infecting mammals including humans. A subtype named avian influenza A(H5) is one such example of the virus with this crossover potential, and has led to widespread infections in poultry operations as well as in U.S. dairy cows. Some mostly mild cases caused by H5N1 have been documented in humans. Dr. Michele Paul, a veterinarian at the Allentown Cat Clinic, said cases among cats are not widespread and she is not aware of any local cases — but known cases have been fatal. “My understanding is that they are just finding them dead,” Paul said. The main cause attributed to bird flu in cats is coming into contact with infected animals, living or dead. As carnivores, house cats need to eat meat, which makes them coming into contact with other animals or their byproducts inevitable. Outdoor and feral cats are especially susceptible as small wild birds and rodents, the preferred quarry of domestic cats, are common carriers of bird flu. Laurie Mason Schroeder, who owns Purr Haus in Emmaus, a store that sells pet supplies and cat-themed merchandise as well as holding cat adoption events, recommends that concerned pet owners bring their cats indoors and keep them there. “There’s a lot of danger for cats outdoors. There are a lot of people who believe cats should be outdoors for exercise and enrichment and things like that. But there are parasites, there are predators, they can get hit by a car, there are just so many ways a cat can be hurt by going outdoors. We just believe the best thing to do is to keep them indoors and give them enrichment that way,” Mason Schroeder said. Paul added that outdoor cats, such as barn cats, should be kept away from domestic birds, whether they be chickens, ducks, turkeys or quail. For indoor cats, the greatest risk comes from consuming raw poultry. Recalls of bird flu-tainted food include one by Oregon pet food company Northwest Naturals, which voluntarily recalled some of its Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food. However, given the rampancy of H5N1 in the U.S. poultry industry, it would be wise to not feed cats any raw food, especially not raw poultry. A batch of cat food sold nationwide is being recalled following the death of an Oregon house cat, officials in the northwest state said. The recall was issued on Christmas Eve, and the cause of the cat’s dead was determined to be bird flu contracted from a batch of Northwest Naturals brand 2-pound Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food. (Photo courtesy of Northwest Naturals; Grace Cary/Getty) If pet owners insist on feeding their cats a raw diet, Mason Schroeder said, they should opt for freeze-dried cat food from New Zealand, where there are no documented cases of H5 in poultry production. There also have been reports of cats getting sick drinking raw milk, but she said cats shouldn’t be drinking milk regardless of whether it is raw or pasteurized as most cats are lactose intolerant. Signs and treatment According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, signs that a cat may be infected are loss of appetite, lethargy and fever in the early stages. Once the illness progresses, the cat may become severely depressed, experience rapid breathing, shortness of breath, sneezing or coughing, loss of balance, tremors, seizures, blindness or have discharge around their eyes or nose. However, AVMA recommends that pet owners and vets who notice only neurological symptoms consider the possibility that it may be rabies. To avoid your cat potentially infecting other pets when you take them to the vet, you should call your clinic ahead of time and describe the symptoms so that the veterinary team can be ready when the pet arrives. The cat also should be kept away from people with compromised immune systems. As for treatment, Paul said that because H5N1 in cats is a relatively recent phenomenon, there aren’t any proven treatments for it. She said pet owners should keep their cat well-hydrated if they are sick but veterinarians don’t have many tools at their disposal to help. “There are some antiviral drugs out there that if the cat was that sick I would probably try that even without knowing whether or not it would help,” Paul said.