Pet brand recalls food after cat dies from bird flu contamination

Portland-based pet food company Northwest Naturals issued a North American recall after a cat died from consuming a batch of their cat food, which was contaminated with the bird flu virus.

In a press release issued Tuesday (December 24), the company announced a recall of its 2-pound Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food after a house cat in Oregon died and subsequent testing revealed the product contained H5N1 bird flu.

“Consumption of raw or uncooked pet food contaminated with HPAI [highly pathogenic avian influenza] can cause illness in animals,” the company said in a statement. “To date, one case of illness in a domestic cat has been reported in connection with this issue.”

Northwest Natural urged customers to immediately discard any recalled cat food with “best by” dates between May 21, 2026, and June 23, 2026, and to contact your point of purchase for a full refund.

The potentially contaminated cat food was distributed across the US — specifically in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington — as well as in British Columbia, Canada.

Northwest Naturals stated that the recall is being conducted in cooperation with the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) in Salem, Oregon, which also released a statement.

According to the ODA’s press release, laboratory testing conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Oregon State University confirmed that the cat contracted H5N1 and died after consuming the raw frozen pet food. These tests also confirmed a genetic match between the virus found in the pet food and the virus that infected the cat.

“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” said ODA State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz, according to an official statement.

He continued, “This cat was strictly an indoor cat. It was not exposed to the virus in its environment, and results from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the raw pet food and infected cat were exact matches to each other.”

The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) noted that the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and local public health officials are monitoring household members who had close contact with the infected cat for flu symptoms. The ODA emphasized that no human cases have been connected to this incident and that the risk of human transmission in Oregon remains low.

To prevent the spread of diseases like HPAI, state and federal experts recommend several precautions: avoid raw or undercooked meat and raw dairy products; limit contact with sick or dead animals; and wash hands after handling raw animal products or contacting sick/dead animals. Sick or dead birds should be reported to the ODA. Keeping pets and poultry away from wild waterfowl is also advised.

This case underscores the risk of severe illness associated with consuming or feeding pets raw meat products, which may contain harmful pathogens such as Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, and H5N1. Thorough cooking destroys these pathogens. Likewise, raw, unpasteurized milk can carry harmful germs, including HPAI, which pasteurization eliminates.