Your orange tabby might be a vicious mouser. But house cats are not wild animals, and most veterinarians advise against feeding companion animals raw food because of pathogens like salmonella and listeria.
The risks of raw diets have become even more pronounced in recent months due to the ongoing spread of the H5N1 bird flu.
Several house cats fell ill, and some died, from H5N1 after consuming uncooked meat or unpasteurized milk. This has prompted recalls and warnings by public health agencies against giving raw foods to pets.
So how serious is the risk to Kitty? Here's what cat owners should know.
Can my cat really get sick or die from bird flu after eating raw meat or milk?
Yes, though it's rare, says Dr. Jane Sykes, who specializes in infectious diseases in cats and dogs at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.
Since 2022, more than 70 cats have contracted H5N1. Sykes notes that many were barn cats and drank milk from infected cattle: A study published last summer found that about half of the infected cats on a dairy farm in north Texas died from the virus.
Last month, the Oregon Department of Agriculture said that a house cat contracted the virus and then died after consuming a frozen turkey product made by raw pet food brand Northwest Naturals. It stated that "tests confirmed a genetic match between the virus in the raw and frozen pet food and the infected cat."
Northwest Naturals voluntarily recalled this batch of its frozen turkey-based product.
Also last month, Los Angeles County's public health department confirmed two cats tested positive for bird flu after drinking raw milk from the Raw Farm dairy in California's Central Valley. Raw Farm voluntarily recalled its milk and cream after retail products tested positive for H5N1, but it denies any food safety issues, calling the concern "a political issue."
After these and other instances of sickness among house cats, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced last week it is now requiring cat and dog food companies to update their safety plans to protect against bird flu.
Vets say the safest bet is conventional pet food. Dr. Bruce Kornreich, the director of Cornell University's Feline Health Center, says he isn't worried about the possibility of H5N1 in these since heat used in cooking, canning and pasteurization seems to neutralize the virus.
Sykes agrees, which is why she feeds her indoor cat, Freckles, regular kibble.
How else can cats get bird flu — and what are the symptoms?
Any cat that spends unsupervised time outdoors is at risk of catching bird flu, warns Dr. Michael Q. Bailey, the president-elect of the American Veterinary Medical Association.
The main concern is when kitties hunt, they'll prey on infected songbirds or rodents, especially mice.
Bailey recommends that people watch out for signs of lethargy, runny nose, or discharge around the eyes.
If a cat does seem sick, Sykes says people shouldn't assume it's bird flu — even if their animals spend time outdoors or eat a raw diet. Upper respiratory illnesses are common in cats, while H5N1 is "still pretty rare."
Bird flu can cause neurological symptoms such as dizziness and seizures, which are symptoms of rabies, too. Rabies is almost always fatal, and it poses a threat to human health, so any animal suspected of having this virus must be euthanized.
Bailey says it's a good idea to make sure your pets are up to date on their rabies and other vaccines.
Can my cat make me sick?
Bird flu in domestic cats is fairly rare, and these pets appear to be dead-end hosts for this virus, meaning they can't pass it to other animals or people.
There've been no known cases of cat-to-human transmission during the current outbreak of H5N1. The American Veterinary Medical Association says chances of this occurring are "considered extremely low, but not zero."
Most people who get H5N1 have been farm workers in direct contact with infected poultry or cattle. Of the 67 confirmed human cases of H5N1 in the U.S., there's been just one fatality.
The strain of bird flu currently circulating has not adapted to easily infect humans or spread among us.
Still, bird flu viruses mutate over time, cautions Sykes.
So when house cats get sick with H5N1 and then cuddle up to their people, this creates more opportunities for bird flu to potentially adapt to a human host.
The more cats that eat raw food, the more chances for an infection and a species crossover event to occur, says Ian Gill Bemis, a Ph.D. student who studies avian influenza in cats at the University of Maryland Department of Veterinary Medicine and the School of Public Health.
"I think there is a significantly high risk to public health that humans might become infected if large numbers of people are feeding their cats raw food at this particular point in time," he says.
There is at least one instance of a cat infecting a human with another kind of bird flu, called H7N1. As NPR reported in 2016, a veterinarian in New York City caught the virus after having close contact with infected cats. She experienced mild symptoms and quickly recovered.
Sykes says that this 2016 bird flu virus is very different from H5N1. But it's an example that cat-to-human transmission is possible with avian influenza.
Despite the risk to public health, Kornreich argues that pet owners shouldn't be demonized for feeding their animals raw food. "These people really want to do what's right for their cat," he says.
What about dogs and other animals?
The FDA says dogs can also get bird flu infections, though they're usually milder than in cats. Some dogs outside the U.S. have fallen ill and died from bird flu. It's unclear why cats have been so much more affected, since people also feed dogs raw food.
"It might be, perhaps dogs are getting infected and we just don't know it," says Kornreich.
In addition to wild birds, poultry and cattle, large cats are also vulnerable to H5N1. As are many other mammals, including foxes, opossums, several species of bears, even bottlenose dolphins.
Sarah Boden is a freelance health and science writer.
This story comes from NPR's health reporting partnership with KFF Health News.
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