The current strain of bird flu is spreading from wildlife and livestock to house cats. To keep pets healthy, many virologists and veterinarians say, house cats shouldn’t eat raw food and should be kept indoors. Despite no known cases of H5N1 transmission between cats and people, some public health agencies and virologists are warning cat owners to be mindful of the theoretical risks to the health of humans in their households if a pet gets sick.
  • Drusas@fedia.io
    9·
    5 days ago

    Alternative headline: US’s poor public health system poses bird flu risk to cats

  • Catoblepas
    7·
    5 days ago

    Now, a small but growing number of house cats have gotten sick from H5N1, the bird flu strain driving the current U.S. outbreak, after eating raw food or drinking unpasteurized milk

    One neat trick to make sure your cat doesn’t get bird flu: don’t do that. Don’t let them outside unsupervised and stop feeding them raw food.

    • Garibaldee@lemm.eeOPEnglish
      3·
      5 days ago

      One can hope that farmers with barn cats will actually do that, but they probably won’t.

      • Catoblepas
        5·
        5 days ago

        It’s not just barn cats, any cat that goes outdoors and even indoor cats that are fed raw food can get it if the food is contaminated. Although right now based on CDC statements it seems like cats are mostly getting it from dairy workers, not the other way around.

        • Garibaldee@lemm.eeOPEnglish
          4·
          5 days ago

          That’s true, but barn cats are cats that are more likely to be fed scraps and raw food to begin with. Most people with pet cats are just feeding them cat food. Obviously some people are doing this as it is discussed in the article, but, Bird flu is primed to be the next covid with how unseriously it’s being taken right now, especially by poultry/egg farmers.

  • QualifiedKitten@lemmy.worldEnglish
    4·
    5 days ago

    My cats are indoor only, and I don’t feed them any raw food, but I frequently foster cats that have come from outdoor situations. I always do a 2 week quarantine before allowing them to meet, but I’m getting very worried that I might still be putting my resident cats at risk of bird flu if I continue fostering, since things like URIs seem to spread despite the quarantine.

    • TacoButtPlug@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2·
      4 days ago

      My friend in Arkansas was banned from a neighborhood group for asking about how to raise chickens so they don’t get the bird flu. So, in essence, because Arkansas is one of the biggest shitholes for Trump voters - it’s indicative that the whole bird flu is bad because of the anti-vax right.