This means four cats in Oregon have now been infected by avian influenza in the past two months, including two others in Washington County. The disease is more common among chickens and other poultry,

Oregon health officials say they are continuing to alert pet owners of cats getting sick with bird flu Last week, the Oregon Department of Agriculture said some house cats in the area had to be euthanized after getting avian influenza.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) are warning pet owners about the risks of raw pet food after indoor cats in Oregon became ill from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI or H5N1) beginning in early February 2025.

One of the cats was euthanized due to the severity of the illness. The other is being treated by a veterinarian.

Newly confirmed US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins, JD, today introduced new steps to battle avian flu in poultry and stabilize the egg supply, which includes $500 million to help poultry producers shore up biosecurity measures.

Echoing results from earlier California investigations into H5N1 infections in domestic cats, an investigation by agriculture departments in Oregon and Washington has renewed warnings about feeding pets raw food after their investigation into two cat illnesses in Oregon found that the pets were exposed to the same raw pet food brand.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture urged pet owners to check ... Testing confirmed the presence of the highly pathogenic avian influenza in both cats, which lived in separate households, and samples of the raw food, the department said in a statement.

“Companion animals, and especially cats, are 100% a public health risk in terms of the risk of zoonotic transmission to people,” said virologist Angela Rasmussen, who studies disease progression in emerging viruses at the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization.