By Christine Newman, DVM | Posted February 14, 2025
Winter in NJ is the time of year for cold and flu viruses to make their rounds. While we do not see these illnesses or seasonality in our domestic pets, a concern this year is the increasing prevalence of bird flu, specifically Influenza Type A H5N1, which affects both wild and domestic birds (particularly poultry), cattle, and cats.
This virus has affected thousands of wild and domestic birds in the US since 2022 and in March 2024 was first identified in dairy cattle. The virus is usually fatal in domestic poultry and has caused severe illness and death in domestic cats, including 20 big cats at a Washington State sanctuary. To date, 66 humans who had exposure to animals and poultry have been infected and one person has died.
Currently there has not been human-to-human transmission, however, it is a pressing public health concern. Cats and dogs can be exposed to bird flu by consuming sick or dead infected birds, drinking contaminated unpasteurized milk, or eating contaminated raw or under-cooked food. Several cats have recently become infected by eating commercially prepared raw diets, which were contaminated with the H5N1 virus.
The virus proved fatal in these cats and may also have exposed their humans to the virus. Signs of avian influenza in cats may include non-specific signs such as fever, lethargy, and loss of appetite and more specific signs such as ocular and nasal discharge, difficulty breathing, and neurologic signs including tremors, seizures and blindness. Treatment for influenza in our domestic cats is supportive as there is no specific medication which will kill the virus.
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The disease in poultry is uniformly fatal and backyard chickens can become infected by coming into contact with infected birds or their feces. Local veterinarians have instituted additional precautions to prevent disease spread when examining backyard poultry and may no longer be willing to treat or euthanize sick or injured wild birds.
Given the lack of treatment, prevention is essential to keeping our cats and backyard poultry safe. Cats should be kept inside to prevent contact with wild birds and backyard poultry. For many reasons, cats and dogs should not be fed raw diets. As much as possible, keep wild birds away from backyard poultry using enclosures; pets and visitors should not be permitted to interact with backyard poultry. Hand washing and proper sanitation of poultry pens are also essential for disease prevention. There is an influenza vaccine available for dogs but currently it is not thought to confer any protection against avian influenza.
The NJ Department of Health recently issued an advisory regarding the risk to cats from feeding raw diets. Comprehensive information about all things H5N1 may be found here: nj.gov/H5N1.
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