When an 8-month-old kitten was brought to Brilliant Veterinary Care on the Upper West Side with a high fever and loss of appetite, his care team searched for answers. What they found would mark one of the first confirmed cases of bird flu in a domestic cat in New York City.
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The New York City Health Department has now confirmed multiple cases of avian influenza (H5N1) in domestic cats, marking a concerning development in the ongoing outbreak of the virus.
At Brilliant Vets, Dr. Deborah Bayazit and her team initially ran standard tests when the kitten arrived on March 2. “He (was) just not feeling well, not really eating. He presented with a very high fever, 106. We did bloodwork, took x-rays, everything was normal,” she explained. Despite supportive care, the kitten’s condition worsened over the next few days. His left eye became cloudy, and he developed pneumonia.
When tests for common viruses came back negative, the team started looking for other possibilities. “The owner had mentioned that she had fed the cat a commercially prepared raw food diet,” said Dr. Bayazit. So they decided to test for avian flu. “It was very oddball, not common, but everything else was negative.” The results, processed through Cornell University, confirmed it was H5N1. The case was reported to city, state, and federal agencies. Sadly, the kitten did not survive.
The NYC Health Department confirmed that all the cats who tested positive for avian influenza in the city had been fed raw diets, all connected to Savage Cat Food, poultry packets lot number 11152026. They are urging pet owners to avoid raw food and raw milk, keep cats indoors, and steer dogs away from sick or dead animals.
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Dr. Bayazit explained that even harder treats, which some may not realize are raw, pose the same risk. “There are treats that are freeze-dried raw (…) and those fall in the same umbrella,” she clarified, sharing that Brilliant Vets has stopped using those treats at their practice.
NYC Health Department Acting Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse stated that the current overall risk to New Yorkers remains low. “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 at this time.”
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How is the kitten?
Taken from the article above…
“When tests for common viruses came back negative, the team started looking for other possibilities. “The owner had mentioned that she had fed the cat a commercially prepared raw food diet,” said Dr. Bayazit. So they decided to test for avian flu. “It was very oddball, not common, but everything else was negative.” The results, processed through Cornell University, confirmed it was H5N1. The case was reported to city, state, and federal agencies. Sadly, the kitten did not survive.”
People are increasing our pandemic risk when they feed their pets uncooked food.
— Or themselves raw/uncooked food, as so often advocated by THE KING’s choice for HHS Secretary, RFK Jr., AKA Brain Worm Guy, also a great fan of measles parties.