You might have heard in regards to the unhappy demise of a minimum of one cat after consuming uncooked frozen cat meals contaminated with the H5N1 virus. Whereas a single fatality won’t precisely have you ever quaking in your boots, it was sufficient to persuade a number of pet meals corporations to check their merchandise and subject voluntary remembers. Recalling merchandise might be a particularly expensive enterprise for any firm, and never an motion taken calmly, so how apprehensive do pet homeowners should be?
The Information About Chicken Flu
Avian influenza, generally known as ‘fowl flu’ or H5N1, is a extremely pathogenic type of influenza virus that’s devastating to the poultry trade.1 Traditionally, we’ve seen the illness unfold from fowl to fowl and sometimes from fowl to mammal, together with people, cats, and cattle, however throughout the newest outbreak, there have been instances of virus transmission between mammals.2 Why is that this a priority? Nicely, it means that this virus is continuous to vary and evolve, which may have devastating outcomes.
H5N1 is nearly at all times deadly in birds, which might have a devastating influence on wild fowl populations. Moreover, obligatory cullings in poultry farms are sometimes carried out in an try to include the unfold of the virus. In cattle, indicators of an infection are normally delicate, with milk manufacturing most importantly affected. People, who can contract fowl flu by direct contact with contaminated birds or mammals, are inclined to undergo delicate flu-like signs of fever, headache, and coughing, with occasional vomiting and diarrhea as nicely. Over the previous 12 months, there have been lower than 70 confirmed human instances of H5N1 within the US, with solely a single fatality. Nevertheless, it’s how the virus impacts cats that’s conserving loads of pet homeowners up at evening.
Cats, Canines, and Chicken Flu
The truth that cats might be contaminated with avian influenza isn’t new data, and the majority of instances are seen in farm cats or strays which have caught and eaten wild birds or ingested unpasteurized milk. In actual fact, sick barn cats have usually been used as an early indicator to dairy farmers that fowl flu could also be within the herd. Not like in people and cattle, fowl flu is usually deadly in cats, with scientific indicators together with fever, lethargy, reddened or infected eyes, discharge from the eyes and nostril, problem respiratory, neurologic indicators, like tremors, seizures, incoordination, or blindness.
The latest demise of a home cat in Washington County has led to widespread testing by pet meals corporations, with some issuing remembers for sure poultry-based merchandise. Whereas supporters of uncooked pet meals insist that there isn’t any want for alarm, the case does spotlight one of the evident issues with the raw-feeding development: pathogen threat.
Though a uncooked weight-reduction plan has been proven to present many well being advantages to pets, the danger of bacterial, and now viral, contamination is a hazard that may be alleviated with some light cooking. There at the moment are a massive variety of corporations creating fresh-frozen meals as a safer different to uncooked, optimizing the dietary advantages whereas minimizing the danger of pathogens.
Thus far, though canine are capable of turn into contaminated with fowl flu, the one instances discovered – both by pure or experimental publicity – have been asymptomatic. That’s excellent news for the canine, however not so good for the unfold of the virus.
The massive fear for cats is that we now know that they’ll turn into contaminated with fowl flu from direct contact with contaminated animals, by consuming birds or unpasteurized milk, and thru the consumption of contaminated uncooked meat. Coupled with the truth that this virus is especially virulent in cats, pet homeowners are proper to be involved.
How Can I Shield My Cat from Chicken Flu?
The very first thing to know is that statistically, the danger of fowl flu an infection in your cat may be very low, however that doesn’t imply you shouldn’t keep vigilant. The probabilities that your cat will come into direct contact with an contaminated animal are extraordinarily low, but when your cat is fed a uncooked meat weight-reduction plan, notably one which comprises poultry, you might wish to rethink their meals alternative.
The FDA issued the next recommendation to pet homeowners:
“H5N1 might be lethal to cats, in addition to canine, so we encourage shoppers to rigorously take into account the danger of this rising pathogen earlier than feeding their pets raw meat or an raw pet meals product. Each the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention and the American Veterinary Medical Affiliation discourage the feeding of raw meat diets to companion animals as a result of potential presence of pathogens, together with H5N1. Warmth remedies have been proven to be efficient for inactivating H5N1 in meat, milk, and egg merchandise. We advocate that customers observe the USDA pointers for dealing with and thorough cooking of uncooked meat earlier than feeding. Animals also needs to be stored from looking and consuming wild birds.”
The Take House Message
Though the danger of fowl flu to your cat stays extraordinarily low, the consequences of the virus are extreme, so you will need to keep updated with details about this outbreak and the way it could have an effect on your pets. There are some easy methods to maintain your cat’s threat even decrease, and a type of is to make sure you are solely feeding meals that has undergone some type of warmth therapy. When you do use a uncooked meals weight-reduction plan, we might advocate getting in contact with the provider to verify they’re screening for H5N1, and take into account cooking meat merchandise earlier than feeding them to your pet – simply bear in mind to take away bones from rooster!
Preserve your kitty indoors, or if that isn’t an choice, make some modifications to cut back their looking success. To be sure you keep within the loop, subscribe to Catster.com, and in the event you suspect that your pet has been contaminated or uncovered to avian flu, it is necessary that you just contact your veterinarian instantly for recommendation and observe the rules set out by the CDC.
