Death of Washington County cat prompts pet food recall after contracting bird flu

Published 1:30 pm Thursday, December 26, 2024

The death of a Washington County house cat this week has prompted the recall of a Portland-based cat food found to be contaminated with bird flu.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday, Dec. 24, that an indoor cat died after consuming Morasch Meats’ Northwest Naturals brand 2-pound turkey recipe raw & frozen pet food — which authorities determined to test positive for the H5N1 strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus.

“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” state veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholtz said in a release. “This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not exposed to the virus in its environment, and results from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the raw pet food and infected cat were exact matches to each other.”

Morasch Meats voluntarily recalled the product, which was sold nationwide and in Canada. The recalled product is packaged in blue 2-pound plastic bags with “Best if used by” dates of 05/21/26 B10 and 06/23/2026 B1.

“Customers who have purchased the recalled product should immediately discard the product and contact the place of purchase for a full refund,” the department advised in the release.

As of now, the Oregon Health Authority and local public health officials are monitoring household members who had contact with the cat for flu symptoms, officials said.

No human cases have been linked to this incident to date, and risk of transmission to humans remains low in the state.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture began testing milk earlier this month from every commercial dairy across this state in response to nationwide spikes in bird flu cases. There has been one confirmed human case of the virus in the state, but no evidence of bird flu in dairy cows or milk.

To prevent the spread of disease, officials recommend avoiding the consumption of raw and uncooked meat products, as well as raw dairy. The department of agriculture also urges people to wash their hands thoroughly after handling raw animal products or having contact with sick or dead animals.