The current highly pathogenic avian influenza HPAI or H5N1 outbreak has caused unprecedented mortality in wild and domestic poultry, and illness and death in a variety of mammals, mainly wild carnivores. In March last year: HPAI was detected in dairy cattle, with large amounts of virus shed in milk. In California and Oregon, there has been a recall of multiple batches of raw milk ‘and raw poultry products that have tested positive for HPAI. There have also been reported cases of domestic cats that have ingested these products. Reported clinical signs of HPAI in cats include anorexia (loss of appetite), fever, neurologic signs due to encephalitis, respiratory signs due to pneumonia, and death in some cases.
It is recommended to cease feeding your cat any raw milk and any raw meat. The big problem might be outdoor cats consuming birds and other potential small mammals. This may be particularly true of barn cats.
Any cat with these symptoms should be examined, and various samples should be taken, sterile urine, nasal swabs, blood samples, and rectal swabs.
These should be submitted to a diagnostic lab handling this disease.
To date, I have not seen any cats with these symptoms suggestive of avian flu, but pay close attention. It is recommended to cease feeding cats or dogs any raw meat or milk products for safety.
