Santa Barbara County Public Health has confirmed that two house cats in Goleta died from bird flu.
The cats tested positive for the H5N1 virus, otherwise known as bird flu, after developing severe neurological symptoms. Officials are investigating how they were infected.
Cats can catch the virus by eating contaminated food, especially raw meat.
County Public Health Officer Dr. Henning Ansorg said there’s no evidence the virus spreads from cats to humans, and there are things you can do to protect your felines:
“If you own cats, do not feed them raw cat food or raw human food– no raw poultry nor raw milk products,” Ansorg said. “Cats are very susceptible to the virus.”
Ansorg said warning signs in cats include labored breathing or neurological issues like stumbling or confusion.
The pet food brand Northwest Naturals recently recalled a batch of its Feline Turkey Recipe frozen pet food. A cat in Oregon died after eating the food, and the batch tested positive for bird flu.
California has been monitoring dairy farms every week for bird flu, which has– so far– shown up at about two-thirds of dairies in the state.
