The bird flu virus has been found in another brand of raw pet food, the Los Angeles department of public health said. An indoor cat has tested positive for bird flu and 4 others in the household are believed to have also been exposed.
The brand, Monarch Raw Pet Food, is sold at farmers markets in California.
Last week, a cat in Oregon died after eating a raw food product contaminated by bird flu. The maker of that cat food, Northwest Naturals, has since recalled certain batches of the turkey-based food.
On Wednesday [1 Jan 2025], Los Angeles public health officials warned against consumption of "all raw milk and raw meat products and not to feed these to their pets."
Felines have been at risk from bird flu, either getting sick or dying, for years. There were no cases in the United States until 2022, experts say.
"By late 2024, there had been over 25 cases reported," said Dr. Jane Sykes, a professor of small animal internal medicine at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. "They were mostly cats on dairy farms in states such as Texas and Colorado. There have also been some indoor cats with no known exposure. They may have been fed raw diets or unpasteurized milk."
The Oregon report represents the 1st documented case of an indoor cat with no exposure to poultry or dairy cows dying from the virus through consumption of a raw food, she said. Only about 2% of pet owners feed their dogs or cats a commercial raw food diet, according to a 2024 American Pet Products survey. The problem with feeding raw milk and meat is these foods can be contaminated with bacteria and viruses, Sykes said.
"Commercial pet foods are heat treated," she said, adding there have been cases of pets infected with and dying from salmonella and other bacteria lurking in raw foods.
"The processing traditional pet foods go through makes it almost impossible for that to happen," said Dr. Stephen Cole, an assistant professor of microbiology and director of the clinical infectious disease laboratory at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. That's because cooking and pasteurization kill viruses and bacteria.
Some owners may believe it's safer to feed their pets raw food or treats which are freeze dried -- a process that involving freezing a substance and then vacuuming out water crystals. But "freezing is just a good way to preserve viruses," said Dr. J. Scott Weese, a professor at the Ontario Veterinary College and director of the Center for Public Health and Zoonoses at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. "So you can't say stick it in the freezer and that will get rid of the virus."
In fact, he said, researchers wanting to preserve viruses for later study will freeze dry them. NBC News reached out for comment to 3 makers of freeze dried raw cat foods including Instinct, Stella & Chewy's and Vital Essentials. They didn't respond.
Cats, whether small-sized domesticated ones or larger species such as tigers and cougars, seem to be especially susceptible to the bird flu virus. One sanctuary in Washington state reported losing 20 big cats last week. The Food and Drug Administration is currently investigating cases of cats infected with bird flu in several Western states.
"The FDA is tracking cases of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in domestic and wild cats in California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington State appearing to be linked to eating contaminated food products," spokesperson Janell Goodwin said in a statement. "No human illness has been reported from handling these foods or through contact between
people and the animals. The FDA is working with state and federal counterparts to gather more specific information about what animals ate -- which foods and when -- and to coordinate test results of the animals and the suspect foods."
In the meantime, the FDA warns against feeding raw foods which might have come from farms with infected animals, Goodwin said. "If you're not sure of the origin of your products, it's safest to thoroughly cook or pasteurize it to inactivate the virus."