Case points to potential cure for cats infected with H5N1 bird flu

Discovery suggests early use of Tamiflu may help felines, but some are cautious.

- BY SUSANNE RUST

TAMIFLU, an antiviral drug, was used by a veterinarian to treat two cats believed to be ill with bird flu.

(TED S. WARREN Associated Press)

Since the avian flu arrived en force in California's dairy industry in 2024, not only has it sickened cows, it has killed hundreds of domestic cats.

Some pet cats that live on dairy farms were infected with the H5N1 virus by drinking raw milk. Both pets and feral barn cats got sick after eating raw pet food that harbored the virus. Still others got it by eating infected wild birds, rats or mice, or from contact with dairy workers' contaminated clothes or boots.

But a new published case suggests that death may be averted if infected cats are treated early with antiviral medications, such as Tamiflu, or oseltamivir. Once treated, these animals may carry antibodies to the virus that make them resistant to reinfection, at least temporarily by Jake Gomez, a veterinarian who treats small animals, such as cats and dogs, as well as large ones, including dairy cows, from his clinic, Cross Street Small Animal Veterinary Hospital, in Tulare.

Last fall, Gomez worked with a team of scientists from the University of Maryland and University of Texas who were in the Central Valley collecting blood samples from outdoor cats at dairy farms, looking to see if they could find antibodies to the H5N1 flu.

Cats are extremely sensitive to H5N1; one of the telltale signs that a dairy herd is infected is the presence of dead barn cats.

On Oct. 31, a cat owner brought an indoor/outdoor cat to Gomez' clinic that was ADR a technical veterinarian acronym that stands for "ain't doing right." The cat was up to date on all its vaccinations, and the owner reported no known exposure to toxic chemicals.