10 Cats Infected. Raw Pet Food Still Legal.
Between December 2024 and September 2025, Los Angeles County recorded a cluster of 10 cat H5N1 infections — 9 confirmed, 1 suspected. The infections were traced to three sources: raw milk, raw pet food, and raw meat. Multiple cats died. Over 130 feline H5N1 cases have been confirmed nationally.
The contaminated products included Monarch Raw Pet Food, which was confirmed to contain live H5N1 virus, and Northwest Naturals 2-lb Feline Turkey Recipe. A second cluster emerged in September 2025 with the B3.13 genotype circulating in US dairy cows.
Despite this, raw pet food remains legal and widely available.
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What Raw Pet Food Is
Raw pet food is exactly what it sounds like: uncooked, unprocessed meat sold as food for cats and dogs. Advocates claim it mimics a "natural" diet and provides superior nutrition. There is no scientific consensus supporting these claims. What there is consensus on: raw meat can contain pathogens including Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli, and, as of 2024, H5N1 avian influenza.
Pasteurization kills H5N1. Cooking kills H5N1. Feeding your cat raw turkey that came from an H5N1-positive flock does not kill H5N1. It delivers the virus directly to an animal with a 70 percent fatality rate.
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The Regulatory Gap
The FDA regulates pet food under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. It has the authority to recall contaminated products and issue warnings. It does not have the authority to ban raw pet food as a category. Individual products are recalled after contamination is detected, but the market continues to sell uncooked animal products to pet owners who believe cooking destroys beneficial properties.
This is the same logic that drove the raw milk movement: distrust of food processing, belief in "natural" superiority, and rejection of scientific consensus. And the result is the same: dead animals, sick humans, and a regulatory apparatus that responds after the damage is done rather than preventing it.
The Human Risk
Cats infected with H5N1 shed the virus in respiratory secretions, saliva, and feces. A cat using a litter box, sleeping on a bed, being petted, or sneezing near its owner creates exposure events. The mortality rate for H5N1 in confirmed human cases is approximately 50 percent.
Los Angeles County's 10-cat cluster is not just an animal health issue. It is a public health sentinel event. Each infected cat is a potential source of human infection. And each bag of raw pet food is a potential delivery mechanism.
130 confirmed feline cases nationally. A 70 percent mortality rate. A virus with 50 percent human lethality. And the product that delivers it is still on the shelf at your local pet store.