Cat Bird Flu Information Center

Cat Bird Flu / Cat Avian Influenza

   

Avian Influenza H5N1 Information for Cat Owners. We hope this information will reduce the number and severity of bird flu cases in cats by increasing your knowledge of the disease and thereby helping you become be better prepared to keep your pets safe in these troubled times of Cat Bird Flu, Cat Avian Flu, Cat Avian Influenza, H5N1.

Bird Flu has infected several cats in Euope and Asia. At the moment it looks like they are appearing much more frequently than infected dogs. A few cats have been found carrying the disease that do not appear to be sick. Information is rapidly streaming in from many sources around the world as Bird Flu, H5N1 continues to spread. At this moment the disease has not been found in the United States in wild birds, poultry or cats, but many expect it to occur shortly.

This web site is NOT trying to create a hysteria. Very few dogs and cats have been found infected World Wide and both appear more resistant to the disease than domestic poultry. At this point, the risk to most pets appears low IF proper precautions are taken.

Cat Bird Flu Information Center is a Polson Enterprises web site.

When domestic cats feed on infected wild birds or poultry they can become infected with the disease. Cats are thought to pick it up most frequently from other species of wild birds which contract it from the waterfowl. Infected cats shed the virus through their respiratory and intestinal tract thereby possibly transmitting the virus to other cats. Research has shown that domestic cats can die may die from H5N1 virus. It does appear that somewhat like humans, cats are not highly susceptive to the virus in its current form.

Cats are not thought to play much of a role in transmitting bird flu to other birds, but may play a role in transmitting it to other small animals. Their potential as a host the disease might mutate in before passing on to humans is currently receiving a lot of attention. Recent studies have shown infected cats excrete the virus in feces and through their respiratory tract at lower levels than chickens do. But, scientists do not know how long they excrete it for or the amount needed to cause infection in other cats. They also do not know if it is possible to transmit the disease from cats to humans.

There is some concern cats may contract bird flu from pigeons, while other studies show pigeons reasonably resistant to bird flu.

If you have dogs or other pets, you may also be interested in out Pet Bird Flu Information Center.

Cat Bird Flu Information

Government Statements on Cats and Bird Flu

Articles About Bird Flu in Cats

  • H5N1 in Cats by the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO).

  • Bird Flu: A Danger to Felines? Cornell Feline Health Center. March 3, 2006. The estimate U.S. risk to cats as very low due to "the safeguards established by governmental agencies should help prevent the kinds of outbreaks that have occurred in other parts of the world." We at the Cat Bird Flu Information Center are a bit less convinced in the government's ability to control the interaction between migratory birds and local wild birds, especially after their handling of Hurricane Katrina.

Bird Flu Research Studies on Cats

  • Scientific Report of the Scientific Panel on Biological Hazards on Food as a Possible Source of Infection With Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses for Humans and Other Mammals European Food Safety Authority. 23 March 2006. Discusses the possibility of the virus entering pets and humans via food.

  • Avian Influenza Virus in Mammals Spreads Beyond the Site of Infection to Other Organ Systems Innovations-Report. 16 Jan 2006 reviews a January 2006 paper titled "Influenza A Virus (H5N1) Infection in Cats Causes Systemic Disease with Potential Novel Routes of Virus Spread Within and Between Hosts". Researchers at Erasmus Medical Center have demonstrated systemic spread of avian influenza virus in cats infected by respiratory, digestive, and cat-to-cat contact.

  • Influenza A Virus (H5N1) Infection in Cats Causes Systemic Disease With Potential Novel Routes of Virus Spread Within Hosts. American Journal of Pathology. Vol.168 No.1 (Jan 2006) Pgs. 176-183. Cats fed infected chicks, cats directly injected with the virus, and cats catching the virus from other cats all excreted the virus in both the respiratory and digestive tracts.

  • Avian H5N1 Influenza in Cats. Science. Vol.306 No.5694. Experiments showed cats become infected when fed uncooked meat from H5N1 infected chickens and that once infected, cats could spread the disease to other cats.

  • Avian Influenza in Cats. Australian Veterinary Journal. Vol.82 No.10 (Oct 2004) Page 588.

  • Pathogenicity of Avian Influenza Virus for Cats. Veterinary Record. British Veterinary Association. Vol.155 No.11 (Sept 11, 2004) Pgs. 315-316.

  • Avian H5N1 Influenza in Cats. Science. Vol. 306. 8 Oct 2004. Earlier version the article to be published January 2006 in the American Journal of Pathology, listed above.

  • Bird Flu in Cats. by Stephenson. Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) 2004 Vol.292 Pg. 1810.

Help Spread the Word

    If you have any friends with pets that may be interested in this site, please copy the three lines below and email it to them.

    Pet Bird Flu Information Center
    provides the latest information on how to keep your pets safe from Bird Flu.

    http://www.virtualpet.com/birdflu

Cat Bird Flu FEEDBACK

    If you have any comments about our coverage of Bird Flu in Pets, want to suggest we cover something not covered here, see something that might be useful to other readers, or would like to contact us, drop us an email or contact us at Polson Enterprises. Thank you for your help in aiding us to cover this disease.

Disclaimer, Privacy Policy and Copyright

Return to Pet Bird Flu Information Center