It's time to worry about bird flu in cats
It's time to worry about bird flu in cats
Three pet owners whose cats got bird flu describe their symptoms and quick declines. As such cases mount, public health experts are warning about raw meat and raw milk.
Summary
Cases of bird flu in domestic cats are rising, with at least 126 U.S. infections since 2022—half in 2025—often linked to raw meat or milk.
The virus spreads quickly in cats and is frequently fatal. Three recent cases tied to raw poultry and unpasteurized milk led to two lawsuits and multiple pet food recalls.
Experts warn the virus could mutate and pose greater human risk.
Though no cat-to-human transmission has been confirmed, health officials urge caution with raw pet diets and stress the need for better surveillance.
This is unironically my greatest fear. I DGAF about a human pandemic, but I love animals and especially cats more than anything. Seeing a "cat cull" because of bird flu would devastate me beyond belief.
Imagine you get bird flu and you are dying, and your cat ends up in the shelter where no one adopts it so it gets euthanized.
You can and should care about both problems that impact people just as much as problems that impact animals and the environment.
Nah. I've seen how humans handle pandemics that threaten them and their loved ones directly, I was less than impressed. Us human beings are a disease, a pox inflicted upon this otherwise innocent world. Anything that wipes out humans is A-ok in my book. I'm not hypocritical about it either, I wouldn't mind being patient 0.