A Portland-based pet food company issued a nationwide voluntary recall after a house cat in Oregon died after consuming one of its products, which tested positive for bird flu.
According to a news release, Northwest Naturals, a division of Morasch Meats, recalled one batch of its 2-pound Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food on Tuesday after it tested positive for the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus, also known as H5N1 bird flu.
Distributors in Washington, Arizona, Rhode Island, Georgia, Maryland, and several other states sold the virus-infected batch throughout the United States, according to the release. Distributors also distributed the products in British Columbia, Canada.
The US Food and Drug Administration did not mandate the voluntary recall, but the company is working with the Oregon Department of Agriculture on it.
The cat died after consuming raw frozen pet food that tested positive for H5N1 in Washington County, Oregon, according to a news release from the Oregon Department of Agriculture.
The department reported that testing revealed a genetic match between the infected animal and the virus found in the raw frozen pet food. The Washington State Department of Agriculture issued a Facebook statement announcing the voluntary recall in response to the test results.
“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” said Ryan Scholz, a state veterinarian with the Oregon Department of Agriculture, in a statement.
Twenty big cats died at the Wild Felid Advocacy Center in Washington after contracting bird flu.
“This cat was strictly an indoor cat,” Scholz explained. “The environment did not expose it to the virus, and the genome sequencing results confirmed that the virus from the raw pet food and the infected cat were exact matches.”
The recall affects products with “best if used by” dates ranging from May 21, 2026, to June 23, 2026, according to Northwest Naturals.
Northwest Naturals advises anyone who purchased the recalled product to discard it immediately and contact the store where they purchased it for a complete refund.
According to the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Health Authority and local public health officials are monitoring people who lived with the infected cat for bird flu symptoms.
The department reported that the incident has not resulted in any human cases of bird flu.
Cats and dogs can contract bird flu by eating undercooked or raw meat, sick or dead infected birds, or drinking unpasteurized milk, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
According to the association, humans can contract an infection if they come into contact with infected animals, but this is extremely rare.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a person exposed to sick and dead birds in Louisiana was hospitalized last week with a severe case of H5N1, making it the first human case of severe illness linked to the virus in the United States.
The CDC defines mild symptoms in humans as mild fever, sore throat, headaches, fatigue, and muscle or body aches. High fever, difficulty breathing, and altered consciousness are among the more moderate to severe symptoms.
Since April 2024, the US has reported 65 cases of bird flu, according to the CDC.