Pet Food Brand Recalled For Bird Flu Contamination After House Cat Dies

What's New

A Portland-based pet food company has issued a voluntary recall after a pet cat in Oregon died from eating one of its products, which was positive for bird flu contamination.

Why It Matters

Northwest Naturals announced in a press release on Tuesday that it was "voluntarily recalling one batch" of its 2-pound Feline Turkey Recipe, raw frozen pet food after it had tested positive for avian influenza (HPAI) virus, or bird flu.

"Consumption of raw or uncooked pet food contaminated with HPAI can cause illness in animals," the press release said. "To date, one case of illness in a domestic cat has been reported in connection with this issue."

The recalled product is in 2-pound plastic bags with best if used by dates of May 21, 2026 and June 23, 2026. The food was sold through distributors in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Washington. It was also sold in British Columbia in Canada.

Consumers who have purchased the recalled product should immediately discard it and contact the place of purchase for a full refund, according to Northwest Naturals.

For additional information or questions, customers may contact Northwest Naturals of Portland at info@nw-naturals.net or 866-637-1872 from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. PST, Monday through Friday.

A tomcat is shown in this stock image. A Portland-based pet food company has issued a voluntary recall after a pet cat in Oregon died from eating one of its products, which was positive for... Associated Press

What To Know

Oregon Department of Agriculture State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz said in a press release on Tuesday that his organization is "confident" the pet cat contracted the bird flu by eating Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food.

"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," Scholz said.

Testing confirmed a genetic match between the infected cat and the virus found in the raw frozen pet food, according to the department.

The Oregon Health Authority and local public health officials are monitoring household members who had contact with the cat for flu symptoms.

Federal and state experts encourage people and their pets to avoid consuming raw or undercooked meat products, as well as raw dairy, to avoid the spread of disease. People should also wash their hands after handling raw animal products and limit contact with sick or dead animals.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture said the risk of bird flu transmission to humans "remains low in Oregon." The state has reported one confirmed human case of HPAI.

Right now, California is the epicenter of the outbreak, with 35 human cases of bird flu in the state alone, mainly after exposure to cattle. Throughout the country, 65 human cases have been confirmed this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Most people who have contracted bird flu recently have only experienced mild symptoms, such as pink eye, cough, fever, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, fatigue and headaches—similar to regular flu.

However, bird flu can also cause diarrhea, nausea and vomiting and, in severe cases, difficulty breathing, seizures, pneumonia and death.

Bird flu largely infects animals. Originally, it was contagious among bird populations and, rarely, caused spillover infections to other species. The vast majority of bird flu cases confirmed by CDC have been linked to exposure to infected animals, such as chickens and cows.

What People Are Saying

The Oregon Department of Agriculture in a press release Tuesday: "This case reminds us that feeding raw meat products to pets or consuming them yourself can lead to severe illness."

Professor Ed Hutchinson, virus expert at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, in previous comments to Newsweek: "When an influenza virus from a different animal adapts to spread effectively among humans, the result is a pandemic... The more encounters the virus has with humans, the more chances it has to adapt to growing in them, and if it can mix and match its genes with a human seasonal flu, that could accelerate this process."

What Happens Next

The recall is being conducted in cooperation with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, Salem, Oregon.