A trendy brand of raw cat food has been urgently recalled amid fears it’s contaminated with bird flu and could put pet owners at risk.
US-based pet food brand, Wild Coast Raw, issued the recall of its frozen Boneless Free Range Chicken Formula following the death of a pet and tests of the food came back positive for the avian influenza virus.
While no human cases have been reported, there are fears pet owners who handled the food, and then touched their eyes, nose or mouth, could be at risk.
Officials from the US Food and Drug Administration have urged people who handled suspect batches of the pet food to watch for potential bird flu symptoms.
‘People who handled contaminated products should watch for symptoms of bird flu, including eye redness or irritation (conjunctivitis), cough, sore throat, sneezing, runny/stuffy nose, muscle/body aches, headaches, fatigue, fever, trouble breathing, seizures, rash, diarrhoea, nausea, and/or vomiting,’ a notice from the agency reads.
‘People exhibiting these signs after having contact with this product should contact their healthcare provider and local health department.’
Owners who have already fed the food to their pets have also been warned to look out for the symptoms in their cats.
Wild Coast founder Tyler Duncan said they issued the recall following the death of a pet that was recently fed their product ‘out of an abundance of caution’.
At least 99 domestic cats have been infected with bird flu since late 2022, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture
US-based pet food brand, Wild Coast Raw, has issued a recall of its cat food due to possible contamination with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
‘The safety of our products and that of our customers’ beloved pets is always our top priority. We were devastated to learn of the passing of a beloved pet, and our hearts go out to the owner, he wrote on the company’s website.
At least one other cat is reported to have fallen ill after consuming the product.
Wild Coast Raw asks anyone who has purchased the recalled product to discard it immediately and contact the store they bought it from for a full refund.
The American Veterinary Medical Association had previously issued a warning about the bird flu, known scientifically as H5N1, outbreak affecting cats.
‘Cats were already known to be susceptible to the H5N1 virus, with several feline cases linked to poultry or wild bird exposure before the outbreak in cattle began,’ the organisation said in a statement on its website.
‘Cats appear to be particularly susceptible to severe illness, often resulting in death. Whether infected cats can infect other cats is currently unclear; however, that possibility cannot be dismissed.’
The virus has torn across the US in recent months, resulting in the culling of millions of birds, sending egg prices skyrocketing, infecting dozens of humans, and killing one person in Louisiana.
At least 99 domestic cats have been infected since late 2022, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
The latest recall comes after Portland-based pet food company Northwest Naturals issued a North American recall in December after a cat died from consuming a batch of their cat food, which was contaminated with bird flu.
Bird flu does not have the ability to transmit from person to person, researchers say, and health officials have stressed that the risk to humans remains mild.
Experts have previously warned how raw pet food diets, which contain uncooked meat bones and offal, could potentially carry bugs that could jump to humans including E.coli and salmonella.
The popularity of raw pet food has exploded in recent years amid claims it has numerous benefits to pets including giving them fresher breath and a shinier coat.
