Bird flu infections have been mounting in cats

Pet owners whose cats got bird flu describe their symptoms. At least 126 domestic cats have contracted bird flu. Experts recommend avoiding raw meat and raw milk.

Bird flu wasn’t on Tim Hanson’s mind when he fed his cats specialty pet food containing raw chicken.

“You go to the pet shop and it was the premium raw food,” he said. “It was finely ground to a consistency that I thought was beneficial to my cats.”

But in early February, one of his cats, Kira, developed a fever and stopped eating. A test ordered by a veterinarian came back positive for bird flu. Within days, Kira’s condition had deteriorated — she became lethargic and had trouble breathing.

After several trips to the vet and emergency room in Portland, Oregon, where Hanson lives, he made the painful decision to put Kira down. 

“She was the happiest cat I’ve ever had,” he said. “You’d walk past her and she’d do a little back flip and get on her back so you could rub her belly. She did that in the hospital the last night… She just very lethargically flopped on her back so we could rub her belly.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/bird-flu/bird-flu-in-cats-rcna198374

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