The Los Angeles Department of Public Health (LADPH) yesterday issued an animal health alert, following the severe illnesses and deaths of two indoor-only cats from the same household after eating commercially sold raw pet food.
In a statement, county veterinary officials said one of the cats tested positive for highly pathogenic H5N1 that belongs to the B3.13 genotype, which has been circulating in US dairy cows as well as in poultry. The second cat was not available for testing.
The first cat became ill about 1 to 2 weeks after eating a batch of commercially available raw food and died several days later. The second cat’s symptoms began 5 days after the first cat became ill. Both had appetite loss followed by neurological symptoms. Samples were obtained for the second cat.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) conducted the testing and is conducting genetic sequencing testing.
The LADPH is monitoring household members and veterinary clinic staff who had contact with the cats, and so far, no human illnesses have been detected.
The new cluster of cat infections from H5N1 is the first in Los Angeles County since a cluster of 10 (9 confirmed and 1 suspected) were reported in December 2024 and January 2025 in pets exposed to raw milk, raw pet food, and raw meat.
Warning follows FDA alert earlier this month
Officials didn’t name the company but said an investigation into the food product is ongoing with the involvement of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
“With this strong scientific evidence of the linkage between contaminated raw products and cats developing severe or fatal H5 bird flu infection, veterinarians should strongly advise pet owners to not consume nor feed raw dairy, raw meat, raw poultry, and raw pet food diets to pets,” the health department said.
Earlier this month, the FDA warned pet owners after tests found a link between H5N1 samples in a sick cat in San Francisco and a brand of raw cat food that contained chicken.
