Questions remain for pet retailers about the death of a cat from bird flu in Oregon.
On Dec. 24, Northwest Naturals voluntarily recalled one batch of its 2lb Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food after it tested positive for the H5N1 strain of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus. A press release on the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) website states that a veterinarian reported a feline patient had died from the virus and the cat was fed the Northwest Naturals product:
“Testing conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) and the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (ODVL) at Oregon State University confirmed a house cat in Washington County contracted H5N1 and died after consuming the raw frozen pet food. Tests confirmed a genetic match between the virus in the raw and frozen pet food and the infected 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. “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.”
Jennifer Flanagan, owner of Pacific NW Pets in Sherwood, OR, sold the Northwest Naturals food in question and contradicts the assertion that the cat, named Villain, was ‘strictly an indoor cat,’ telling PETS+ that she came into the store regularly with her owner. Flanagan also pointed to the owner’s social media that shows Villain going on outdoor adventures with the family dogs.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states on its website: “If your domestic animals (e.g., cats or dogs) go outside and could potentially eat or be exposed to sick or dead birds infected with bird flu viruses, or an environment contaminated with bird flu virus, they could become infected with bird flu.”
Advertisement
Flanagan shared her first-hand knowledge of the situation with her fellow retailers in the PETS+ Facebook Community, amid many questions about how the cat contracted the virus and why no other sicknesses or deaths have been tied to the food, which arrived in stores four months ago.
Northwest Naturals sold the now-recalled product through distributors in multiple states and in British Columbia in Canada. In a letter sent to its distributors Monday, Director of Sales & Marketing Amy Snell stated:
“Last week, the ODA visited our office to inform us of a presumptive positive test for H5N1 and we began pulling data requested by the ODA. The ODA subsequently informed us on December 24th that the test was confirmed, and we issued the recall the same day. Despite the fact that our QC Manager — who has 23 years’ experience working with USDA — expressed concerns about the accuracy of a test performed on an open bag of food (typically only sealed packages are eligible for accurate testing with the sample split between both parties), the ODA was confident the source was our food.
“Since the single batch of affected turkey identified by the ODA was purchased and processed in May 2023, the facility that processes Northwest Naturals’ product has processed over 40 million pounds of product containing various types of protein, including over 1 million pounds of turkey. Prior to learning of the unfortunate death of the feline reported to us by the ODA and cited in various press stories, we had no indication or reports of any HPAI contamination associated with any of our products. The food contained in the two recalled lot codes was sold in August 2024. To date, we are unaware of any other verified case of HPAI allegedly associated with our products aside from the single case cited by the ODA.”
NWN has created an FAQ for customers on its website, sharing current information about the recall, its products, and the high pressure processing used on its raw pet foods. The letter from Snell to distributors goes into greater detail about the testing and HPP of its products:
“At NWN, we test for major pathogens like E. coli, Listeria, and Salmonella, but viral testing — including H5N1 — is done at the supplier level. Farmers are federally required to report sick or dead birds, and the USDA inspects flocks before they are processed. We rely on a letter of guarantee from the supplier confirming the turkey’s health.
Advertisement
“Our High-Pressure Processing (HPP) process is known to eliminate major pathogens and viruses, including Avian Influenza. However, we cannot test for H5N1. We are still investigating how the H5N1 virus remained in the Turkey cat food after HPP.”
As they wait for more answers, retailers continue to discuss the situation with each other on social media and with their customers. These store owners shared their experiences in the private PETS+ Facebook Community for publication here:
“We have talked to several people on the phone, and posted responses to the avian flu written by the brands we carry. None (at least thus far) has switched or mentioned switching from raw or freeze-dried food. Most actually think that the media is blowing it out of proportion.” Beth Kidd, Dogs By Design, Irwin, PA
“Only a few people have been asking about the recall so far, but the numbers will probably increase after the holidays. All my staff are raw feeders, and we are confident that raw food (including NWN) is safe to feed. We have shared NWN’s recall of the specific lots on our Facebook page and are using info our rep has provided about the company’s response to help calm fears that customers may be experiencing. None of the stock in our store matched the lot codes, but we pulled it and put it in our backstock freezer anyway. We have printed out the info for staff reference. The staff will show alternative proteins such as rabbit, pork, fish or beef to our cat owners who are uncomfortable about continuing to feed poultry-based raw. We will be open about sharing any further information we receive with our customers on our Facebook, too. I also mentioned to a customer I spoke with today that my own dogs are eating NWN raw turkey tonight for dinner.” Jodi Etienne, Razzle Dazzle Doggie Bow-Tique, Bradley, IL
“A few clients have asked about the NWN recall, and we explain what we know so far, and all the clients responded positively and weren’t freaking out. Currently I have seven bags of their turkey in my freezer — NONE with the affected dates/lots etc thankfully. From the FB chat groups, the group of cat people who are very concerned are some of the exotic breeders (Sphynx, Devon Rex, Cornish Rex, for example, who all feed raw), and that is expected due to their more delicate cats’ systems I am assuming.” Sherry Cassin, Meow Mini Mart, Jersey City, NJ
“I had two customers reach out immediately. I forwarded the response that Raw Bistro released, followed by the Small Batch and Solutions responses. I felt their responses to the subject as a whole are excellent, better than what I could formulate. We all feed raw here, for many decades. NWN was one of our very first raw products 20+ years ago. I believe the holidays will delay a lot of people hearing about the recall. I stand firm, and we will take our information from trusted pet professionals, NOT the media. I am encouraging our customers to stay the course with us as more information emerges.” Karen Conell, The Bark Market, Delevan, WI
Advertisement
“We are posting many of the statements from the raw brands that we carry. I have had a few people change proteins, and I support them on that. Although I personally am still feeding my dogs and cat premade raw poultry, I don’t discount my customer’s concerns and I do understand their hesitation. I think for the most part, people are following the investigation but not panicking. They also trust that we will inform them of any new updates, and they know we want to keep their pets safe.” Angie Scavone, Sniffany’s Pet Boutique, Albany, OR
PETS+ will continue to cover how this situation affects pet retailers and brands as the story develops.
