Oregon Man Sues Pet Food Company for Allegedly Killing His Cats With Bird Flu

A man in Oregon filed a lawsuit against Wild Coast Pet Food this week after his cat died from bird flu. The suit alleges the company misled consumers when it sold raw chicken cat food as healthy, failing to acknowledge potential risks, such as potential death from the consumption of H5N1-infected food.

The lawsuit, filed by Tim Hanson, seeks just under $8,000 in damages which covers compensation for veterinarian bills and legal fees, according to CTVB 7 in Oregon. Hanson adopted his cat Kira in 2021 and told the news outlet he typically feeds his cats raw food like the chicken that killed his cat because “I believe in the health benefits of it.” It’s not entirely clear what health benefits Hanson believes can come from raw chicken.

Hanson told KTVB 7 he bought the Wild Coast Pet Foods brand cat food in January but one day in early February Kira stopped eating. Hanson told the news outlet he brought her to the vet on Feb. 5 and a few days later tests confirmed Kira had bird flu.  Kira was so sick she had to be euthanized on Feb. 9.

Wild Coast, which is based in Washington, issued a recall on March 1 for its 16 oz and 24 oz frozen Boneless Free Range Chicken Formula raw pet food for cats. The food was sold in Washington and Oregon.

The warning from the recall, which was posted on the FDA’s website:

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.

The spread of bird flu has been devastating for many cat owners, as they seem to be the most susceptible among domestic animals outside birds to H5N1. Many cats from New York to Oregon have been documented to have died from the disease and there are likely many more deaths that are going undetected.

No humans in the U.S. have contracted bird flu from eating food, at least as far as health authorities can tell. But it does appear that cats are getting it from the consumption of raw food. U.S. health agencies have tested both milk and beef and it appears both are safe for human consumption even with the presence of bird flu as long as the milk is pasteurized and the beef is cooked to at least medium.

There’s also no evidence of human-to-human spread of the bird flu in the U.S. but there is concern a mutation could allow that to happen. There have been 70 cases of H5N1 documented in Americans with one death. Forty-one of those cases have been tied to dairy cattle, 24 have been traced to poultry farms, two cases are from backyard flocks and wild birds, and three cases are still unknown sources.

Wild Coast didn’t respond to questions emailed Friday. Gizmodo will update this post if we hear back.