After another raw pet food recall and a cluster of H5N1 bird-flu-infected cats, Los Angeles county public health officials are re-upping their warning to pet owners: Stop feeding your dogs and cats raw pet food.
A recall has been issued on San Jacinto-based Monarch Raw Pet Food, whose raw poultry products are sold at several farmers markets in California. The recall came after H5N1 bird flu was detected in product samples.
At least one cat in the county has tested positive for the virus after consuming the pet food. Four other cats, from the same household, were also presumed infected.
Two of the cats have died. The remaining three were quarantined and treated and have been returned home.
The cats’ symptoms “ranged from lethargy and respiratory (coughing and sneezing) to neurologic symptoms and eye illness,” said Becky Schlikerman Sernik, a public health spokeswoman.
The company’s website makes no mention of the recall. It does, however, tout that its products are made from “human grade USDA free-range poultry that is raised in the San Joaquin Valley.”
In November, a 350,000-bird commercial egg-laying operation in Riverside County was infected with the bird flu and depopulated, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Since 2022, nearly 22 million birds in California have been infected or depopulated as a result of the outbreak.
Public health officials are urging residents who may have fed their pets Monarch raw products or other raw meat or dairy products, and who may have noticed their pet acting peculiar — lethargic, loss of motor control, drooling, etc. — to immediately contact their veterinarian. People should also avoid consuming raw milk or raw meat products.
Monarch’s website lists the farmers markets where it sells its products.
The announcement comes on the heels of several warnings regarding pet cats and bird flu in the county. In early December, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health confirmed H5 bird flu in four house cats from a separate household that consumed recalled raw milk and became sick and died. That case is part of an ongoing investigation.
There have been no human cases of bird flu identified yet as associated with exposure to these cats.
