The purpose of this post is to present a myriad of facts, which will be different than our typical more conversational post you see here. it is not our intention to sound cold or emotionless. Never ever EVER do I want to see animals die. But I do want you to know the facts, and facts don’t transmit emotion.
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Is Bird Flu new?
Not at all. It’s been circulating around the world off on for the last 18 years. In fact there are multiple research studies that date back to 2007 discussing bird flu.
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Who is affected by bird flu?
Primarily: Birds. Especially wild birds. You know those cute little ones up in the sky that travel across continents when they migrate.
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Lots of other species can be affected as well. This is the nature of flu. However, the primary species that bird flu is supposed to attack is birds. This is why right now in the United States, the USDA is aggressively looking for signs of bird flu in commercial (aka food producing) bird flocks.
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What’s unusual about this bird flu?
First, is the fact that some cats get incredibly sick from it! Second is that there is mixed evidence that the bird flu could potentially transmit through food – primarily to cats.
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OK, please don’t stop reading here! I’ve done a bunch of research, and I have some more things I really think you should know.
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On Friday, January 17, 2025 the FDA published guidance that all raw pet food manufacturers need to consider bird flu in their food safety programs. The FDA cited research demonstrating that bird flu had been found in cats, and potentially dogs, in other places in the world.
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When I finally had time to read these articles, however, here is what I found:
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Yes. In the United States — and in other places in the world — there are some cats who get outrageously sick and die from bird flu.
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There is one, read that word, ONE case in the literature in Thailand, of an outside dog, who lived next to a duck meat producer, and the dog consumed dead duck carcasses that had died from bird flu. This dog died. This is the ONE AND ONLY CASE reported in the literature of dogs getting sick naturally from bird flu.
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So I would agree with the FDAs motion to have raw meat producers consider bird flu in their food safety plans. Trust me, they all have. They all buy USDA meat. At least my (NGPFMA.org) manufacturers do. There are manufacturers who buy waste product from the USDA. But, after talking to some producers, there are no bird flu carcasses being pushed through the USDA system. They’re all being killed and buried on the farm. Doesn’t mean it is preventing spread of the illness. But that’s a different topic.
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Is the food the number one cause of bird flu?
Absolutely not! A colleague filed a freedom of information request with the department of Oregon. Turns out that the poor cat that got sick and died around Christmas time was reported by the owner to be an outside cat! This kitty went outside on a regular basis.. In the northwest… During flu season. Where birds were migrating. (Shame on the Oregon state official, who reported the cat to be an inside cat to the news media.)
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I’ve been saying all along that the package of food that was implicated was contaminated. After all it was an open bag of food. Now we have the proof.
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Furthermore, the Oregon department also collected an unopened bag of the exact same food. It was negative for presence of the bird flu virus. No human wants to cause disease in their pet! Accidentally, the pet owner contaminated this bag of food. I am outrageously sad for the cat and the owner. I’m also outrageously sad that a government official wanted to be the sword on which raw pet food died. If you want to destroy an industry, make sure you have all your facts straight. We have had two reports around the time of Christmas implicating raw food. In both cases proper testing procedure was not followed. And yet these companies are supposed to die on their sword. Let’s be responsible citizens.
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Have I seen cases of bird flu?
I’m pretty sure I have seen one. Wonderful family. They do everything right for their cats. Several of the cats got very sick this fall. Blessedly, they are all still with us. Because these owners went above and beyond.
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The bird flu? Specifically?
I don’t know. I know that we all get viruses. Whether or not you believe in viruses, there are “things“ that get passed around in times of stress, or during temperature changes. We sure have some temperature changes right now.
So I have seen some dogs that get what looks like a cold or a flu. They look like they have a headache. They don’t eat or drink for a couple of days. Some of them look or get nauseous. Some get diarrhea. And like most of us, who get “a bug”, they get over it. It’s all supportive care. Lots and lots and lots of fluids and keeping them fresh air, but it all goes back to the immune system.
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OK, but why do we have such a big concern in the United States right now?
All right, maybe part of the answer to that is political. Let’s not go there.
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What can I tell you?
I read the literature cited by the FDA. Some researchers in China intentionally infected 45 day old beagle puppies with bird flu. The puppies all got sick. Some died naturally. Some were euthanized. This was the evidence that supposedly documents dogs can get sick from the bird flu.
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There are other studies that take a more broad picture. Primary species that can be affected by bird flu. Birds and humans. Humans is where the concern is. All of this always goes back to humans!
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It’s based on animals that are called “mixing vessels”. Like a mixing pot or a mixing bowl. It’s like when you make cookies. You mix a bunch of ingredients together. You get something new. You take flour, sugar, and eggs, and all of a sudden you have a cookie.
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So, in some species, you take bird flu, swine flu, mix them together, and you get something new that affects humans.
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Pigs are the main species that acts as this mixing bowl. But some research has implied that dogs can be a mixing bowl as well.
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So once again, researchers blame all human illness on animals. This is called a zoonosis. (I’m broadly generalizing. Supposedly that’s not cool.) Researchers never blame humans for causing illness in animals. Or at least rarely. It’s called a reverse zoonosis – when humans infect animals.
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The bottom line is that because we humans live with animals, we can all get each other sick.
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Am I worried that my dogs are going to get sick with the bird flu from eating raw chicken? After reading all the literature presented by the FDA, I am not.
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Am I worried that my cats are going to get sick with the bird flu after eating raw chicken? My cats? No. Some of my clients cats that are maybe elderly or have cancer or have weakened immune system? It is something I consider. I’m absolutely going to talk to them about risks, and they can make their own decision. After all, they are the parents.
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So, if you’re concerned about your cats immune system right now, during flu season, why don’t you lightly cook the meat? (I recently wrote a post on what this means.) This is a temporary measure. Flu season comes and goes just like it always does.
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Or make sure that you’re buying from a company that sources from USDA Inspected and passed meat. (read the other side of that coin. Do not buy meat from a company that intentionally sources waste from the USDA. There are some raw companies that do that. I do not support these companies. Their food is cheap for a reason.)
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Bottom line:
We need to protect our pets. Bird flu has been overhyped. It’s real, but all cats are not going to fall over dead. If you have a high-risk cat, think about it.
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Still seeing patients in Tampa, Clearwater, and virtually.
