Providing care for your daily dose of joy! Serving the Triangle area - based in Durham. A mobile veterinary practice serving the Durham, NC area
03/10/2025
Medical Monday: bird flu (H5N1) in cats- let’s talk about prevention since there is no vaccine available to protect cats at this time. Luckily if your cat is indoor only and eats a cooked diet, you have little to fret about.
Keep your cats safe by following these tips:
Refrain from feeding cats any dairy products or colostrum that have not first been pasteurized or thoroughly cooked to kill the virus.
Thoroughly cook meat before feeding, and avoid feeding raw meat-based treats or diets.
Keep cats indoors to prevent exposure to birds and other wildlife.
Avoid contact with sick or dead birds and other wildlife yourself.
Keep cats away from livestock, poultry, and their environments, especially in areas with known H5N1 outbreaks.
Thoroughly wash your hands after handling your cat and after any encounters with poultry, livestock, or wild birds and other animals.
Change your clothes and shoes, and thoroughly wash any exposed skin, after interacting with sick or dead animals that may harbor the H5N1 virus, and before interacting with your cat.
If you feed birds or walk near bird feeders or other places birds (including poultry) gather, change your shoes or disinfect their soles before entering your house.
