Further cat food recalled amid bird flu concerns with more cats falling ill

Yahoo

08-03-2025

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued another raw cat food recall amid the ongoing bird flu outbreak in the US.
Almost two weeks after the first voluntary recall of Wild Coast Raw food, two cats in different households in Washington tested positive for bird flu. One cat was euthanized, while the other had to spend time under veterinary care.
Two lots of raw food products from Wild Coast Raw came under the voluntary recall, but it's not known whether the cases in Washington are linked to the recalled items or not.
Now, Wild Coast has recalled further products, identified by lot numbers #22653, #22641, #22639, and #22672, all with a best-buy date of December 2025, along with #22660 and #22664 – as they all share similar production dates. The recalled products are all in small round white plastic containers with green labels.
Two of Christine Knopp's 11 cats had to be euthanized after eating raw pet food, with another requiring a stay in intensive care. All of the cats who had eaten raw pet food later tested positive, with only one, who was kept apart from the others and fed canned food, remaining negative.
Knopp, who lives in Portland, Oregon, and breeds and shows Cornish Rex cats, has fed her pets raw cat food for years, and believed that the Wild Coast food was being testing for bird flu.
She told The Guardian, 'I've since learned, I don't think there's really a safe way to trust if someone says they're testing it,' she said. She's now switched to canned food for all of her cats.
The USFDA, meanwhile, told cat parents: 'People who fed pets the recalled products should watch for symptoms of bird flu in their pets, including fever, lethargy, low appetite, reddened or inflamed eyes, discharge from the eyes and nose, difficulty breathing, and neurological signs like tremors, stiff body movements, seizure, lack of coordination, or blindness. People with pets exhibiting these signs after feeding this product should contact their veterinarian.'
Here are 11 more signs to take your cat to the vet, too, because it's always best to err on the side of caution.
No human infections have been identified as a result of handling the recalled products, but people should wash their hands after handling raw pet food and sanitize contact surfaces.
'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, diarrhea, nausea, and/or vomiting,' per USFDA advice.
Looking to swap your cat's food? Here's our guide to the best dry cat foods on the market