Bird flu infections in cats linked to raw pet food, officials say

NEW YORK -- The New York City Health Department has rolled retired a fewer tips for pet-parents aft 2 cats from 2 abstracted households were infected with vertebrate flu.

One of the cats infected with the vertebrate flu was an 8-month-old kitten connected the Upper West Side that consumed earthy chickenhearted from Savage Cat, a institution that makes earthy favored food.

A veterinarian said the kitten had to beryllium euthanized.

"We took swabs and submitted them to Cornell, we admitted the kitten to the hospital, continued each care, including 24 hr oxygen and proceed to deteriorate, and unluckily had to enactment the kitten to slumber the adjacent time we got the affirmative results for the flu," the vet said.

The Health Department says favored owners should debar feeding their furry loved ones earthy nutrient oregon milk. If a favored has consumed earthy foods and begins showing signs of illness, a veterinarian should beryllium contacted immediately.

Cats should beryllium kept indoors, according to the department. And erstwhile walking dogs, it is champion to debar dormant oregon sick animals.

Additional accusation connected mitigating the dispersed of the bird flu tin beryllium recovered here.

Meanwhile, Savage Cat issued a informing to their clients successful February aft a feline successful Colorado had gotten sick with H5N1.

The institution was notified of the sick feline astatine the extremity of January. That feline has since past recovered.

Savage Cat notified their clients regarding correlations betwixt its earthy feline nutrient and the vertebrate flu. Preliminary investigating of the earthy feline nutrient was tested and returned "not negative."

Further isolation investigating is required and officials are inactive awaiting those results. The institution said they are moving with the FDA and gathering information.

Health experts are advising New Yorkers not to provender pets earthy nutrient oregon earthy milk. They besides are providing favored owners to forestall their cats from roaming extracurricular wherever they could travel into interaction with chaotic birds oregon different animals.

Some signs to ticker retired for successful cats see cloudy oregon runny eyes, coughing, sneezing oregon trouble breathing.

The existent hazard to New Yorkers of vertebrate flu remains low.

"Bird flu viruses contiguous a wider hazard to the wide nationalist lone if the microorganism develops the quality to transmit betwixt radical - which we person not seen," Acting Commissioner of the New York City Health Department Dr. Michelle Morse said.