5 Cats Have Reportedly Been Infected with Bird Flu from Monarch Raw Pet Food · Kinship Leave a comment

5 cats in a Los Angeles house have been reportedly contaminated with H5 chicken flu (H5N1) virus from Monarch Uncooked Pet Meals. Per a press launch from Los Angeles County of Public Well being (LAPH) on Dec. 31, a home cat who ate the product examined constructive for the virus, and 4 different cats in the identical family are considered contaminated as properly.

The LAPH warns pet dad and mom who fed their cats this meals “or different uncooked meat or dairy merchandise and spot their pet is experiencing signs” to name their veterinarians. Whereas this meals has not been recalled, the LAPH is continuous an investigation of the product. As of Dec. 31, there have been no circumstances of human strains of H5N1 in connection to those cats’ publicity.

Monarch Uncooked Pet Meals is just bought at farmers’ markets listed right here:

• Laguna Nigel, California

• Orange, California

• San Jacinto, California

• Fountain Valley, California

• personal places in Corona, California; Fountain Valley, California; Beaumont, California; and Palm Springs, California

Per the corporate’s web site, their meals is constituted of raw-ground rooster comprised of muscle, organ, pores and skin, fats, and bone. The corporate states, “Our pet meals is product of human grade USDA free-range poultry that’s raised within the San Joaquin Valley.”

For questions or to search out care, native residents can name the Public Well being InfoLine at 833-540-0473. The road is open each day from 8 a.m. to eight p.m.

H5N1 in cat meals

This follows the same case final week, when the Oregon Division of Agriculture (ODA) related a cat’s h5n1 loss of life to Portland-based raw-pet-food firm Northwest Naturals.

“We’re assured that this cat contracted H5N1 by consuming the Northwest Naturals uncooked and frozen pet meals,” ODA State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz stated  in a launch by the ODA. “This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not uncovered to the virus in its surroundings, and outcomes from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the uncooked pet meals and contaminated cat had been actual matches to one another.”

On account of this cat’s an infection and loss of life, Northwest Naturals issued a recall of its Feline Turkey Recipe uncooked frozen pet meals with the “finest if utilized by” dates of Could 21, 2026 and June 23, 2026.

What to look out for

In the event you imagine your cat has been uncovered to H5N1, contact your vet immediately.

The LAPH lists the next signs in cats as these of concern:

And look ahead to the next in people:

• Eye redness or discharge

• Cough

• Sore throat

• Runny or stuffy nostril

• Diarrhea

• Vomiting

• Muscle or physique aches

• Complications

• Fatigue

• Bother respiratory

• Fever

As of November 2024, H5N1 has been present in seven states, together with: California, Washington, Michigan, Oregon, Missouri, Texas, and Colorado.