The New York City Health Department is investigating an outbreak of bird flu after two cats from separate households were infected. One of the kittens, an 8-month-old cat on the Upper West Side, was euthanized due to complications from the virus.
Savage Cat, a company that makes raw pet food, had issued a warning to their clients in February after a cat in Colorado contracted H5N1. The company notified their clients about correlations between its raw cat food and the bird flu, but preliminary testing of the raw cat food returned “not negative.”
Health experts are advising New Yorkers not to feed pets raw food or raw milk, and to prevent their cats from roaming outside where they could come into contact with wild birds or other animals. Signs of bird flu in cats include cloudy or runny eyes, coughing, sneezing, or difficulty breathing.
The current risk to New Yorkers of bird flu remains low, according to Acting Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse. “Bird flu viruses present a wider risk to the general public only if the virus develops the ability to transmit between people – which we have not seen,” she said.
Health officials are still awaiting further isolation testing results from Savage Cat and are working with the FDA to gather more information about the outbreak.
Source: https://abc7ny.com/post/bird-flu-nyc-2-cats-infected-h5-avian-influenza/16021978