Good morning and Merry Christmas! I hesitated to bring up this topic, but it is important for all cat owners to be aware of the danger of bird flu. Not only have wild cats died, but domestic cats have also been harmed, with one dying after contracting bird flu from raw commercial cat food.
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I think this should be a HUGE story.
the risks of outdoor predation by cats on birds
The risk of raw feeding
The risk that virus will jump from cats to owners
The emergence of Covid from the animal market has, yet again, been verified with DNA samples in an extensive study lead by Canadian scientists
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I definitely will not be feeding raw poultry when I adopt my next cats. Northwest Naturals was one of the brands I used to buy.
I’d be really worried about house or barn cats catching birds as well. I know the seagulls in Los Angeles have tested positive for bird flu. I would expect the common sparrows and hummingbirds will be exposed as well.
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It seems this is not being taken seriously and with changes a the national level it could turn into another disaster.
I don’t have cats, but my neighbors all have semi-feral cats that roam and often hunt around my barn. Cat to human transmission is a major concern. I’ll be watching closely to see how this evolves.
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and it has happened. Data was put out by the CDC yesterday and quickly withdrawn but the word got out,
Science showed that a cat(s) transmitted H5N1 to human(s)
The events are changing quickly and We are going to suffer for lack of reliable information from governmant sources.
I have a few resources I have been using
Your Local Epidemiologist on Substack
Canada Healthwatch . ca they have a US page as well as a H5N1 page
Lizzie Traveler on YouTube ( and other socials) She is good and put out a vid tonight
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There was a report about bird flu transmitted from a cat to a human. You will have to migrate to the Off Topic political thread to know what happened with that report.
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The transmission from birds to cats makes sense because diseased or dying birds are going to be tempting play toys for even the most inept mouser, and even if your cat only gets limited outdoor time, wears a bell, and is old and fat, a dying bird could flutter into your yard.
The CDC is as we all know in the process of being downsized or eliminated, so their information releases might be erratic.
We had a teen in Canada with no poultry exposure (but from an exurb with poultry farms) hospitalized with avian flu in late 2024. Nobody mentioned cats but that’s very interesting.
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We should all be cautious. As COVID mutated quickly, so will the bird flu.
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On my local chicken pages anytime someone asks about their chickens being affected by bird flu they get attacked pretty hard.
Our vet hospital says they’re dealing with a unknown virus that seems to attack both horses and cats on the same farms.
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People are likely terrified their backyard flocks will get euthanized by the local health authorities if they admit they are vulnerable.
Our major city here approved backyard chickens back around 2016 or 17. Pre-pandemic. That no longer sounds so tempting.
I went to the Canada Health Watch site posted above and learned that big swaths of the USA are having the worst overall flu epidemic since the 2009 swine flu. Schools are shut in some parts of Texas and Tennessee. I’m sure this is all well known in the USA, but I hadn’t heard a lot about it in Canada. It’s not all avian flu.
I’m not sure if person to person avian flu transmission has been identified yet?
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So strange.
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That’s not it at all. What I mean is they say that Bird Flu is a fake conspiracy promoted by the left to drive up grocery prices, kill chickens, and control the public.
This would be a good subject to discuss on the other thread.
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A broiler farm less than a mile from my house had a bird flu outbreak last month.
The most disgusting smell in the world might be the smell of hundreds of thousands of chickens composting in their chicken houses after they all had to be euthanized.
I found a dead snow goose in the pasture a couple weeks ago. A few bald eagles were eating it (which is how I found it so quickly). Can’t help but wonder if it didn’t die from bird flu. I put on gloves and bagged up the carcass for the trash.
My cats are all indoor cats, but I do have a small flock of chickens. Not much I can do that I’m not already doing with them. I was really worried someone might come knocking on my door to test or euthanize them, but thankfully that hasn’t happened.
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Ah well. Reality will strike.
I just found this in my email the other day. At 3 minutes she explains what actually happened with the cat from Oregon.
no it has not, but on the other hand they may be behind the 8 ball on looking for that.
My current go to references
canadahealthwatch dot ca
this woman on YouTube is doing an excellent job and discusses the San Mateo cases.
https://youtube.com/shorts/DevT5BTkpq0?si=JC3Oma8lPG4UkleO
Your Local Epidemiologist on Substack
I follow Wildlife Kate on all the socials. In Wales outdoor flocks have been ordered to be sheltered. She has a nice video on what she built for them ( she has a interesting life, give her a follow just because)
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Thank you for this.
Thank you! I was fascinated with the concept that COVID 19 causes long term dysregulation to the immune system, leading to increased vulnerability to other flue viruses.
