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WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) – A popular brand of pet food distributed in Wisconsin and around the nation is being recalled after a cat in Oregon died due to the product being contaminated by the bird flu.
Northwest Naturals, a Portland, Oregon-based pet food company, is voluntarily recalling its two-pound Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food with “best if used by” dates of May 21, 2026, and June 23, 2026, after it tested positive for the virus over the holidays, according to the New York Post.
Oregon Department of Agriculture State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz spoke about the cat’s death, saying, “We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the 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.”
Although there have been no human cases at this time of bird flu connected to the product, people who interacted with the cat are being watched for signs of the illness.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that over 60 people in eight states have contracted the virus in recent weeks, with the majority of their symptoms being considered mild.
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