Two Kansas cats have contracted bird flu. What vets say about keeping your pets safe
After two cats in Pottawatomie County, Kansas were found to have contracted bird flu, some veterinarians are advising clients to make sure their pets stay safe if the virus continues to spread in the area.
The Pottawatomie County Health Department notified local veterinary offices on March 6 that the two infected felines tested positive for bird flu, according to the Timber Creek Veterinary Hospital in Manhattan, Kansas.
TVHC hasn't seen any cats with bird flu on site, veterinarian Dr. Kellie Lewis told The Star, and staff aren't yet raising the alarm about a potential rise in feline cases.
'It would be new for our area,' Lewis said. 'We have not seen any ill cats in the hospital.'
However, Lewis said, concerned pet parents can take steps to protect their cats, birds and other pets by keeping them indoors and sticking to a diet of commercially available wet and dry food.
'People can keep their outdoor cats inside to limit the exposure that they have to wild birds,' Lewis said. 'I would also recommend feeding a commercial diet instead of a raw food diet and undercooked meat — and stay away from unpasteurized milk, because the virus can be spread through these food sources as well.'
Owners of indoor birds should keep their feathery friends away from open windows and screens, Lewis said, and backyard chickens should be secured in a coop with a strong perimeter.
Though not a major concern in the Kansas and Missouri area as of now, bird flu can kill cats quickly if they do contract it, TVHC shared online. Symptoms start with lethargy, loss of appetite and fever. They can progress to difficulty breathing, discharge from the nose and eyes, and neurological symptoms like seizures and blindness.
Bird flu — officially known as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, HPAI or H5N1 — has been seen nationwide in poultry and wild birds since 2022, but spread to cattle in Kansas and Texas in 2024, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In August 2024, a Missouri man became the 15th person in America to contract the current strain of bird flu. He made a full recovery.
Flu vaccines received for the 2024-2025 flu season may also be partially effective against bird flu in people, Lewis said, since H5N1 is related to Influenza A.
Recent human cases of bird flu have largely impacted those who work closely with poultry and cattle, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC has also not identified cats as a notable source of viral spread as of March. However, the CDC reported online that it is continuing to monitor the spread of bird flu through targeted surveillance and contact tracing.
The bird flu outbreak has also inflated egg prices nationwide, including in the Kansas City area, where some grocery stores have been unable to offer their usual full selection of eggs.
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Giving the shots separately cuts a very small additional risk of fevers with seizures that can happen when all the vaccine components are combined. The added risk amounts to 1 case of febrile seizure for every 2,300 to 2,600 vaccinated kids. Giving the vaccines separately avoids it. The review notes that even when these seizures happen, they resolve without long-term consequences. 'Although rare cases of encephalitis and death have been reported after MMRV vaccination, no direct link between these events and the vaccine has been established in persons with healthy immune systems,' the review said. Kulldorff announced Wednesday that a new CDC work group will look at vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox, or varicella. It may reevaluate the combination vaccine recommendation for 1-year-olds, the optimal timing of the vaccine and potential alternatives, such as one used in Japan. CNN's Meg Tirrell contributed to this report.
