For the reason that avian flu arrived en drive in California’s dairy business in 2024, not solely has it sickened cows, it has killed tons of of home cats. Some pet cats that dwell on dairy farms had been contaminated with the H5N1 virus by consuming uncooked milk. Each pets and feral barn cats acquired sick after consuming uncooked pet meals that harbored the virus. Nonetheless others acquired it by consuming contaminated wild birds, rats or mice, or from contact with dairy staff’ contaminated garments or boots.
However a brand new revealed case means that dying could also be averted if contaminated cats are handled early with antiviral drugs, similar to Tamiflu, or oseltamivir. As soon as handled, these animals might carry antibodies to the virus that makes them immune to reinfection, at the least quickly.
The invention was made by Jake Gomez, a veterinarian who treats small animals, similar to cats and canine, in addition to giant ones, together with dairy cows, from his clinic, Cross Avenue Small Animal Veterinary Hospital, in Tulare.
Final fall, Gomez labored with a crew of scientists from the College of Maryland and College of Texas who had been within the Central Valley accumulating blood samples from out of doors cats at dairy farms, seeking to see if they may discover antibodies to the H5N1 flu.
Cats are exquisitely delicate to H5N1; one of many telltale indicators {that a} dairy herd is contaminated is the presence of lifeless barn cats.
On Oct. 31, a cat proprietor introduced in an indoor/out of doors cat to Gomez’ clinic that was ADR — a technical veterinarian acronym that stands for “ain’t doing proper.”
The cat was up-to-date on all its vaccinations and the proprietor reported no identified publicity to poisonous chemical compounds.
Gomez provided to do blood work and urinalysis to probe extra deeply what was happening, however the proprietor declined. So, Gomez despatched them house with an antibiotic and an urge for food stimulant. Two days later, the cat died.
It turned out the household had had one other cat die just some days earlier, Gomez mentioned, recalling the go to.
Additionally throughout that point, Gomez was treating contaminated dairy herds round Tulare. 1000’s of cows had been falling sick from the virus. The household with the sick cats, he discovered, lived lower than a mile from an contaminated dairy, and the cat proprietor labored delivering hay to native dairies, spending time on contaminated farms.
“Contemplating how shortly it moved from one cat to the following, it occurred to me it may be H5N1,” he mentioned.
Gomez mentioned he reached out to the U.S. Division of Agriculture and the California Division of Meals and Agriculture to see if they’d check the lifeless animals for the virus. The companies, he mentioned, gave him the runaround and he couldn’t get anybody to reply his calls — which he mentioned was perplexing, contemplating the speedy response when he alerted them to contaminated cattle.
“If I known as to inform them a dairy herd had it, inside 24 hours a SWAT crew from the USDA and state can be swarming the farm,” he mentioned. However for a cat? Crickets.
On Nov. 6 and seven, the household returned with two extra sick cats.
Gomez mentioned he nonetheless didn’t know what that they had, however had a suspicion they might be contaminated with H5N1. So, he handled them with the antiviral oseltamivir, identified additionally as Tamiflu, and so they recovered.
In March this yr, blood samples collected from the 2 cats confirmed excessive ranges of antibodies to H5N1 — suggesting the cats had been uncovered.
The case was revealed within the journal One Well being.
Kristen Coleman, an airborne infectious illness researcher on the College of Maryland College of Public Well being, and an creator on the paper, mentioned the findings counsel that cats could also be successfully handled and that antiviral drugs may assist forestall additional unfold of the virus amongst cats dwelling in the identical house and the people who look after them.
She mentioned there have been no identified transmissions from cats to people on this outbreak, however there have up to now — in 2005, Thai zookeepers had been contaminated by tigers that had the virus, and in 2016, New York veterinarians at an animal shelter acquired it from tending to sick cats.
However Jane Sykes, a professor of drugs and epidemiology at UC Davis College of Veterinary Medication, mentioned she’s not satisfied the cats on this case truly had H5N1 — and urged folks to learn the examine with care and warning.
“It’s doable that the constructive antibody check outcomes had been unrelated to the explanation why these two cats died,” she mentioned. “The virus wasn’t detected in any of the 4 cats, so an infection was not confirmed.”
And whether or not the cats recovered as a result of they had been handled with Tamiflu, or whether or not the remedy was incidental and so they’d have recovered on their very own — from one other virus, an infection or ailment — isn’t clear.
As well as, she mentioned, nobody has researched the consequences of Tamiflu on cats. And whereas these two cats appeared to tolerate the drug, that doesn’t imply different cats will.
“Cats metabolize a few of the anti-infective compounds very otherwise than different animals, together with folks, and so they’re fairly inclined to unhealthy uncomfortable side effects of many of those medication,” she mentioned. “We now have to be actually cautious after we begin simply utilizing random antiviral medication that haven’t been studied for security in cats, as a result of they’re so more likely to get unhealthy uncomfortable side effects.”
Having mentioned that, she mentioned if she had been confronted with the same state of affairs, a excessive certainty {that a} cat had been uncovered, whether or not from consuming uncooked milk or consuming uncooked meals that had been contaminated, she would contemplate prescribing the remedy. However she’d warning her consumer that it was experimental, and the animal may die from the drug.
She mentioned there are quite a few labs throughout the nation that may check blood and urine for the virus.
Sykes urged folks to not feed uncooked meals or milk to their pets.
She mentioned she’s seeing extra uncooked meals merchandise for pets “and other people need them, and so they don’t perceive the harms and the truth that a few of these are contaminated for an extended time frame with influenza viruses, like H5N1.”
Neither freezing nor smoking meat kills the virus.
“It’s astonishing how massive this business is getting,” Sykes mentioned. “It’s loopy.”
