Shelby Veterinary Hospital

01/16/2025

Jackie and Sable are littermates. And couch buddies .

01/16/2025

Raw food contaminated

Early in December, the pet food company Northwest Naturals issued a voluntary recall of one batch of its 2-lb Feline Turkey Recipe raw frozen pet food after it tested positive for H5N1.

The Portland, Oregon-based company’s recall affects products with “best if used by” dates of May 21, 2026, and June 23, 2026. The contaminated pet food was distributed in multiple states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington, as well as in British Columbia, Canada.

A house cat in Washington County contracted H5N1 and died after consuming the raw frozen pet food. Testing conducted by the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (OVDL) at Oregon State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) indicated a genetic match between the virus in the food and the infected cat.

“We are confident that this cat contracted H5N1 by eating the Northwest Naturals raw and frozen pet food,” Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) State Veterinarian Dr. Ryan Scholz said in a statement. “This cat was strictly an indoor cat; it was not exposed to the virus in its environment, and results from the genome sequencing confirmed that the virus recovered from the raw pet food and infected cat were exact matches to each other.”

While the USDA and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have yet to release formal statements addressing the recall, the ODA worked with Northwest Naturals to initiate the voluntary recall. Consumers are being urged to immediately stop feeding the affected product to their pets and to dispose of it safely. Pet owners are also encouraged to monitor their pets for unusual signs of illness and seek veterinary care if necessary.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) issued a warning on December 31, 2024, stating that a house cat with a laboratory-confirmed H5N1 infection had consumed raw pet food from Monarch Raw Pet Food. Four other cats from the same household were presumed to have contracted the virus after consuming the same product. Monarch Raw Pet Food’s products were sold at farmers’ markets in Laguna Niguel, Orange, San Jacinto, and Fountain Valley, California.

The LACDPH is also investigating a separate incident involving four cats in a household that became ill and died after consuming raw unpasteurized milk, the department said.
Protecting cats and people

Signs of H5N1 in cats include fever, lethargy, heavy discharge from the eyes and nose, respiratory distress, and neurological issues. Disease in affected cats can rapidly progress to death. Rabies also should be considered among differential diagnoses for cats with neurologic signs.

While human infections remain rare, experts stress the importance of proper hygiene when handling raw pet food and applying personal protective measures when interacting with sick or dead animals.

Veterinarians should take precautions to protect themselves and other team members, as described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For example, veterinary teams are urged to use their hospital’s protocols for isolating and managing patients with suspected zoonotic diseases.

Cats with suspected H5N1 should be reported to a state animal health official, state public health veterinarian, or state veterinary diagnostic laboratory. These authorities may direct veterinarians to collect and submit samples for testing.

State and federal experts are encouraging people and their pets to avoid consuming raw or undercooked meat products as well as unpasteurized dairy products.

Experts also recommend that everyone:

Limit contact with sick or dead animals.
Keep cats indoors to prevent exposure to birds and other wildlife.
Change 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 their cat
Keep pets and poultry away from wild waterfowl.

For more information about highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI, more specifically avian influenza type A H5N1) in cats, visit the AVMA’s dedicated webpage on the topic.

The Food and Drug Administration also has information on ways to reduce the risk of H5N1 in cats.

12/11/2024

Our Christmas party at the White Horse Inn. They did an amazing job with all of our meals. It was a nice way to only wonderful staff.

12/05/2024

What a beautiful 6 month old puppy! Stark had such good manners already.

11/08/2024

Just a reminder to everyone that ticks are never out of our environment. We found this one today, totally engorged and ready to lay thousands of eggs. Ticks will be active any day that is above freezing. Check your pets, and yourself!

10/31/2024

Can you guess who won our pumpkin decorating contest?

10/30/2024

These are some of the results of our pumpkin decorating contest. We have a very creative staff.

10/18/2024

A boy and his dog! Two cuties.

10/15/2024

This is Goose-a cute little beagle/australian shepherd puppy. She was as sweet as she looks.

08/15/2024

Louanne is a 7 week old Red FoxLab that was so comfy, she fell asleep during her exam. Our puppy kibble was her favorite part of the exam!!! See you soon, sweetheart!!!

08/15/2024

Max is an 8 week old Bernese Mountain Dog that visited us for the first time. He got lots of snuggles from our staff and we can’t wait to see him back!

06/24/2024

Lucy was such a good puppy with such a beautiful face. She is from Kentucky. I look forward to many happy visits.

06/14/2024

Yesterday we had two wonderful Golden Retrievers, ages 6 and 2, come in for elective surgical procedures. Both dogs had a history of eating a well-known and popular grain free diet for several years. In one dog, an arrhythmia (irregular heart beat) was detected so an x-ray of his chest was taken. His heart was enlarged, so an echocardiogram was scheduled for that afternoon. An x-ray was also taken of the other dog's chest as a precaution, and his heart was also enlarged. He was able to get an echocardiogram same day, as well.

The reports on both dogs just came back, and both of these gorgeous, otherwise perfectly healthy dogs have Dilated Cardiomyopathy. The cardiologist suspects that in both cases it is related to their diet. Thankfully, this condition was caught early, and when fed a traditional diet, their condition should hopefully reverse. Their cases are being reported to the FDA, along with the thousands of others from across the country.

There is no evidence to support feeding grain-free. Most pet allergies are related to environment (pollens, etc) or protein sources. Grain allergies account for a tiny fraction of all food allergies in dogs. Unfortunately, many dogs are becoming very ill or even dying from eating so-called "BEG" diets (boutique, exotic, grain-free), and the terrible thing is nutritionally mediated dilated cardiomyopathy is 100% preventable. There have been zero reported cases of NMDCM in dogs eating foods that meet WSAVA guidelines, currently made by Purina, Hill's, Iams/Eukanuba, or Royal Canin. We strongly suggest if you are feeding a "BEG" diet that you change your dog over to one of the brands listed above. If you have any questions specifically related to your pet, please call us.

We are so hopeful we caught this disease in time for our two beautiful patients to reverse their disease. Their very caring and dedicated owners have already changed their diet to one that meets WSAVA criteria. The articles below will help explain this disease, WSAVA guidelines, and why grain-free was more marketing than science.

http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2018/11/dcm-update/

https://www.wsava.org/WSAVA/media/Arpita-and-Emma-editorial/Selecting-the-Best-Food-for-your-Pet.pdf

http://vetnutrition.tufts.edu/2016/06/grain-free-diets-big-on-marketing-small-on-truth/

https://www.ucdavis.edu/news/dogs-fed-some-popular-diets-could-be-risk-heart-disease/

06/10/2024

We love this puppies name, “Butters”. His face and those big eyes are irresistible!

05/26/2024

I can’t believe summer is already here. Some of you may have seen our Easter egg decorating contest. The staff are so creative! I’m glad I didn’t have to chose!

05/20/2024

Lulu was adorable in her pink Polk a dot dress. She is only 6 months old and a true momma’s girl. She gave lots of kisses.

05/06/2024

05/06/2024

Paddy Lynch, the new owner of Dutch Girl Donuts on Woodward Avenue in Detroit, said plans are for the story to be open by May 12, Mother's Day.