Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is a growing concern in food supplies around the world and is a special concern for our cats.

The virus family designated as H5N1 is the largest current concern.  The H5N1 virus family is one type of  HPAI; there are others, but none of the others are of any significant concern at the moment.

How Prevalent is Avian Flu?

HPAI was first confirmed in a commercial flock in the United States in February 2022.  Since then, the USDA has worked swiftly to identify and respond to detections and mitigate the virus’ impact on U.S. poultry production and trade.  APHIS (Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service)  is working closely with all State animal health officials on surveillance efforts to look for the virus in commercial, backyard, and wild birds. All bird owners are encouraged to practice strong biosecurity – that means reducing opportunities for wildlife to spread the virus to their birds and preventing the spread of the virus from one premises to another.

To help put this into perspective, there are more than 378.5 million egg-laying chickens in the United States¹.  In 2023, more than 9.4 billion broiler chickens and 208 million turkeys were processed in the United States.  As of December 2024, 16.27 million birds have been identified as infected.  This is about 0.17% of all commercial poultry in the United States, which is currently a very small number.  Unfortunately, this number is increasing at a concerning rate.

The USDA maintains a “dashboard” of confirmed HPAI detections in poultry in the United States.   The dashboard includes a map of the states showing where the infections are being identified.

Who Can Catch Avian Flu?

Humans can contract HPAI, and cats and dogs as well.  Cats of all sizes, from domestic cats to lions, are more sensitive to this virus than most other species.  

At present, HPAI has not been detected in dogs in the United States. It has been detected in many wildlife species, including wild cats, black and brown bears, polar bears, bottlenose dolphins, grey seals, harbor seals, coyotes, red foxes, American martens, American minks, river otters, raccoons, skunks, opossums, Albert’s squirrels, Desert cottontail, mice, and prairie voles.²  Many other species have probably been infected.  USDA APHIS maintains a map of disease detections in wild mammals from May 2022 to the present.  

How is the Avian Flu Transmitted?

Transmission to cats to date has been through food, most often unpasteurized milk and raw or undercooked meats, and after catching and eating wild birds or other mammals.  

Transmission has occurred in humans via contact with infected poultry and cattle and their products, such as dung or milk.  Person-to-person transmission has not been documented in the United States but has reportedly happened in a few rare cases elsewhere.  The risk of a human catching this virus from an infected cat is extremely low.

There may be other ways that the virus can spread.  Work is in progress to understand this question better.

How To Protect Your Cat

Cats should not be fed any products (meat or dairy)  from affected farms, unless those products are thoroughly cooked or pasteurized to kill the virus.  Cats should be kept from hunting and killing wild birds.

Ingestion of any infected animal or animal product can put a domestic cat at risk for infection. Do not allow your cat to consume any unpasteurized dairy product.  

Here at Uniquely Cats Veterinary Center, we are in the process of contacting our recommended food manufacturers to determine the level of biosecurity being practiced on the farms where they source their meat, and whether any cases of HPAI have been reported on or around those farms.  

In the meantime, if you are feeding raw food and are concerned about that, you can mitigate risk by cooking the raw food, or by feeding a biologically appropriate canned food instead.

What To Do if Your Cat Gets Sick

Any cat showing the following symptoms should see a veterinarian immediately, and receive prompt treatment:

1. Fever
2. Lethargy
3. Low appetite
4. Reddened or inflamed eyes
5. Discharge from the nose or mouth
6. Difficulty breathing
7. Neurologic signs such as tremors, seizures, incoordination or blindness³

How To Protect Yourself

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has several recommendations to prevent the spread to people. The CDC recommends that people should avoid direct contact with wild birds, and observe wild birds only from a distance, whenever possible.  They also note that people should avoid contact between their pets and wild birds. The CDC adds this particular advice: “Don’t touch sick or dead birds, their feces or litter, or any surface or water source (e.g., ponds, waterers, buckets, pans, troughs) that might be contaminated with their saliva, feces, or any other bodily fluids without wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).”⁴    

CDC goes on to recommend that if you have been in contact with an animal known or suspected to be infected with HPAI, you should monitor your own health for fever and symptoms of infection.  If you develop any of these symptoms within a 10-day period of a possible exposure to an infected, or potentially infected animal, you should call your state/local health department⁵ immediately.

The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE) agrees that the risk to the general public is low at this time.  The CDPHE has yet to offer specific guidance for owners of cats and dogs, but does have some general recommendations for human safety:   avoid contact with sick birds or other animals;  wear personal protective equipment (PPE) if you must handle sick birds or animals; and do not drink unpasteurized milk.⁶ 

1. USDA APHIS, “Confirmations of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Commercial and Backyard Flocks,” accessed 12/2/7/24
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2.  USDA APHIS, “Detections of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in Mammals,” accessed 12/27/24 ↩︎
3.  FDA CVM Guidance to Reduce Risk of HPAI in Cats, accessed 12/27/24 ↩︎
4.  CDC Avial Influenza, “What Causes Bird Flu in Pets and Other Animals,” accessed 12/27/24 ↩︎
5. Boulder County Health Department, 3450 Broadway; 303-441-110. ↩︎
6. CDPHE, “Avian Flu in humans,” accessed 12/27/24 ↩︎