Federal health officials have issued a warning regarding potential H5N1 bird flu contamination in raw cat food, following the death of a pet cat in San Francisco that consumed the product.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed on Wednesday that two lots of ‘RAWR Raw Cat Food Chicken Eats’ tested positive for the virus.
Further analysis by San Francisco health department officials established that the H5N1 strain found in the contaminated pet food was identical to that which infected the deceased feline.
This incident marks the first reported H5N1 infection in pet cats linked to raw food since March.
According to the U.S. Agriculture Department, dozens of domestic cats, including nearly 70 this year, have contracted H5N1, with many infections attributed to the consumption of raw milk or raw pet food contaminated with the virus.
The affected lots of RAWR food include CCS 25 077, with a sell-by date of September 18, 2026, and CCS 250 093, with a sell-by date of October 3, 2026.
RAWR raw pet food is sold frozen and must be thawed before use.
No recall was posted for the products. Representatives for the Grass Valley, California company did not immediately respond to questions about the contamination.
RAWR Raw Cat Food Chicken Eats are sold in frozen 2.5-pound resealable bags containing 40 1-ounce sliders of food. The product is sold in stores nationwide and online.
The U.S. Agriculture Department’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed the virus in samples from the food and the cat.
Genetic sequencing showed that they contained a virus lineage that was detected in November and December and is no longer circulating. The virus is the same type that has been circulating widely in birds and in U.S. dairy cattle, including those in California.
H5N1 infections can cause illness and death in birds, poultry and mammals such as cats. The virus has not been detected in dogs in the U.S., but there have been fatal cases in other countries. Animals that are very young, very old, or have weakened immune systems are at risk of becoming seriously ill from an infection.
No human infections from H5N1 bird flu have been identified in people who handled raw pet food, but humans can become infected and sick if active virus gets into their eyes, nose or mouth.
