Pet food recalled over bird flu contamination after cat dies

A voluntary recall was issued for a line of raw and frozen pet food after a cat died of bird flu, a case that Oregon officials connected to the feline’s contaminated food.

Northwest Naturals told consumers Tuesday to toss their Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food if its sell-by date falls between May 21, 2026, and June 23, 2026. The company’s website said the batch, which was sold across the United States, tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), more commonly known as bird flu.

Consumers can call 866-637-1872 for information on a refund.

The Oregon Agriculture Department also issued a notice about the recall, which followed tests by its lab and a veterinary diagnostic laboratory at Oregon State University.

State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz said the department was confident that the cat’s bird flu was contracted from the Northwest Naturals 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,” he said.

Members of the household are being monitored for bird flu symptoms by state officials, but no human cases were identified as of Tuesday. The state Agriculture Department urged people and their pets to avoid eating raw meat products.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week reported the first severe human case of the latest bird flu outbreak, H5N1, in the U.S., though dozens of other cases were reported this year. A person was hospitalized in Louisiana after potentially being exposed through a backyard flock, the agency said.