Sparkle the Designer Cat's Blog, page 29

Keeping your Cat Safe From the H5N1 Bird Flu – What We Know So Far

If you’re a conscientious cat owner, you’ve probably already heard about the H5N1 bird flu and its deadly affect on cats. According to experts speaking to NBC News, 67% of bird flu-infected cats die. And while most of the 25 or so reported cases of bird flu in cats have been found in felines from dairy farms, a few indoor cats have come down with it too. A cat eating a raw commercial food in Oregon died after contracting the virus. A wildlife sanctuary lost 20 big cats — over half their population  — to H5N1.

While the numbers are small right now, this has a lot of cat owners worried, and with good reason. Viruses can spread exponentially if they are not contained properly. And right now, veterinarians and medical professionals are still learning about this latest strain of bird flu.

Here’s what we know so far, and what you can do to keep your cat safe.

The H5N1 virus has only become a concern recently

This bird flu strain was first reported in dairy cats in Texas in March and April of 2024. Since then cases have spread to several other states, including Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and California.

Birds, both wild and domestic, are at risk of getting bird flu, and spreading it to cats.

Cats can become infected with bird flu by eating tainted poultry. They can also become infected from wild birds — both by catching and consuming them, and by coming into contact with their droppings. Pet birds are also at risk if they have exposure to the outdoors.

The H5N1 virus has been found in milk.

Cows may have the H5N1 virus but be asymptomatic. Their milk will carry the virus. Pasteurization will kill most, but not all traces of H5N1. The living conditions for both dairy cows and poultry are loaded with pathogens, so it’s easy for a virus like H5N1 to spread.

H5N1 is especially dangerous for cats.

Right now, this strain of bird flu hasn’t affected dogs much, but has caused severe illness and death for birds and cats.

Right now, no reports exist of cats passing along H5N1 to humans.

For that to happen, the virus would need to mutate, and researchers and scientists are working to prevent that from happening. Viruses are never static, and containment is difficult (as you may remember from the Covid pandemic), so we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future.

The main thing most cat owners know right now is they really, really don’t want their cats to become infected with this strain of bird flu! So here’s what you can do right now to keep your cat safe.

If you feed raw, stop for now.

Most of the cases of indoor pet cats contracting the H5N1 virus have been from eating contaminated raw food. So if you are feeding your cat raw, be safe and pause for now. Poultry food especially, but keep in mind that other proteins may be cross contaminated. If you are wondering about freeze dried raw, and raw that has been HPP processed, that’s still a concern. One of the raw brands affected (Northwest Naturals) is HPP processed.

As most of you know, my human is super picky about what I eat, and up until now I’ve been fed a mainly raw diet. So she has been super cautious about switching me over to a high quality canned diet. At the moment, she is only allowing me to have rabbit, venison, and lamb cat food, and she is primarily buying food from New Zealand. She feels that New Zealand is pretty isolated as a country, and their regulations about pet food are very strict, so that’s my safest, healthiest choice. Of course, you should do whatever is best for you within your own budget.

In addition, don’t give your cats raw milk. Cats don’t digest milk well anyway, but it’s tempting to them some sort of dairy based treat occasionally. Raw milk can contain dangerous pathogens, including H5N1. The death of four cats in the Los Angeles area have been linked to drinking raw milk.

Limit your cat’s access to the outdoors.

When your cat goes out, if unattended, you have no idea what they’re doing — or catching! H5N1 affects wild birds just like it does poultry. So if your cat catches or encounters an infected bird, or its droppings, they are at risk. If you only take your cat outside on a leash and harness, still be very cautious. There could be pathogens outside. If H5N1 has been detected in birds in your area, keep your cat inside completely.

If you find a dead or dying bird in your neighborhood, don’t touch it! Call animal control immediately, and have them take care of it. If you have handled the bird or stepped anywhere near it, remove your shoes, wash your clothes, and thoroughly wash your hands before coming near your cat.

If you work in cat rescue or manage a feral colony, take extra precautions.

Cat rescuers and volunteers need to make sure they don’t bring anything home to their cats. Have a special wardrobe and shoes for your rescue, shelter, or feeding duties. Then remove your clothes and put them in the washer immediately. Wash up completely before coming in contract with your own cat after your visits.

I know a lot of you do this already, but be extra careful right now. And it’s extra important to remove any sick cat and take them to the vet immediately. You do not want this virus spreading through a whole colony or rescue.

Symptoms of the H5N1 bird flu

Most of you will take your cats to the vet as soon as they show signs of illness, but be especially aware of the following symptoms. Although most of these are pretty typical for a lot of illnesses, they may indicate H5N1.

Loss of appetiteLethargyFeverDischarge from eyes or noseTrouble breathingNeurological issues, such as tremors, seizures, or balance issues

When a cat gets the H5N1 bird flu, it can get serious very quickly, so bring your cat into the vet immediately. If the clinic thinks it is bird flu, they’ll probably suit up in protective gear to examine your cat. It’s that serious.

I know this was not fun to read, but I hope it was helpful! You can find out more info here:

About Avian Influenza from the American Veterinary Medical Association

From the Centers For Disease Control — Considerations for Veterinarians: Evaluating and Handling of Cats Potentially Exposed to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Virus

If you want something more simple that tells you about the current state of H5N1, this article from PBS is helpful.

The post Keeping your Cat Safe From the H5N1 Bird Flu – What We Know So Far appeared first on Summer’s Fabulous Cat Life.

Cat Goals for 2025

As you know, cats don’t make new year’s resolutions because we’re already perfect and don’t need them! But I will tell you, my human doesn’t believe in those resolutions either. Instead, she’s more focused on goal setting. So while she’s putting together a vision board and figuring out what she plans to accomplish in 2025, I’ll put together some cat goals!

Here you go — and humans are welcome to use them too.

In 2025, I will…

1. Play lots more!
When I look back on 2025, I want to be able to say that I played twice as much as I did in 2024.

2. Nap more.
A while back, my human had me wear a cast off Fitbit for a day, and we discovered that I don’t sleep as much as people believe cats do! I’m not getting any younger, so I need my beauty rest. My goal is to get in an extra nap hour daily in 2025.

3. Spend more time with friends.
Of course I see lots of my human friends when I go to cat shows and other events. But sometimes I don’t spend as much time as I should visiting friends in and around my own home. So I plan to do more of that.

4. Spend more time enjoying the outdoors!
Of course, most cats don’t even need to go outside to do this. They can just spend more time looking out the window. Although I have to say, the grass is nice under my feet!

5. Explore places I’ve never been to before!
That includes inside the house. Every cat knows that there are parts of their home that they haven’t really checked out. The bonus is that the humans probably haven’t checked them out either, and will probably spend hours looking for you.

6. Slow down and really savor my treats.
Okay, maybe that is not going to happen!

Happy 2025! I hope it’s a good one!

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Waving Bye-Bye to 2024

It’s time, finally, to say good bye to 2024! And if you picked my classic party dress with the gold stars in yesterday’s post, you were right! That’s the one I chose.

And of course I have a fun Happy New Year hat to wear too.

I know 2024 has been hard for a lot of people. My human was a little disappointed in how things went for her, and then at the last part of the year, a couple of old friends passed away. We were expecting better! Well, maybe next year…and next year is just hours away!

Happy New Year to everyone! You can see me waving bye-bye to 2024 in the video below.

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Picking Out My New Year’s Eve Dresses

It’s already almost New Year’s Eve! Where have the holidays gone? So I need to figure out what I’m going to wear to ring in 2025. I have three party dresses to choose from. I’ll model them for you.

This is my fanciest one. In fact, it may be a little too fancy, since I’m just staying home.

This one is definitely a New Year’s Eve dress. It even says Happy New Year on the back. I don’t know…do you think that’s a little tacky?

This one is a classic, fun, New Year’s Eve party dress.

Here are all three of them spread out. And I picked one! Can you guess which one it is? Vote, or tell me what you think in the comments, and I’ll do the reveal tomorrow!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

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Last Ones, Best Ones? Final Funny Photos of 2024

It’s time for my final outtakes of 2024! And I had so many that I shared them on TikTok and Instagram too, and actually had a couple different ones there than what you see here.

This one is more of a candid than an actual outtake from my terrible holiday hat session. But it’s clear I am expecting a treat for all my efforts.

Often while shooting a video, my human will snap photos on the camera at the same time the video function is on. So occasionally she gets unexpected surprises, like this photo. She was adjusting my hat and thought her hand was out of frame. Spoiler alert: It was not.

And as usual she also got an embarrassingly awkward photo of me. I’d like to see what she’d say if one of her friends posted a photo of her like this!

This photo may have been a reaction to the previous photo.

Even the peach kitty got in on the raspberries.

And that’s a wrap for the outtakes of 2024! I’m outta here.

Did one of this week’s outtakes make you laugh more than the others? Let me know in the comments!

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Fail Edition: My Holiday High Jumps

I had a ton of outtakes for my holiday high jumps!

I missed the jump!

I walked around it. And a couple other creative fails.

Check out the video below for the best of the bloopers.

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What the Peach Kitty Gave Me

Maybe you are wondering if the peach kitty gave me anything for Christmas. Well, he did!

He got me…a rose!

The only thing is the flower part was gone, and the stem still had all its thorns.

Maybe he thought it was a cat toy.

Or maybe he was just high after playing with his new catnip toy.

So yeah, maybe he didn’t get me anything after all.

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Christmas With the Peach Kitty

My human and I went out looking for the peach kitty on Christmas Day. It took him a little while to show up. Maybe he was napping.

It was time to bring out his presents. First we showed him the treats. you can tell he was excited.

To be honest, we were both excited!

He gave his treat gift his paw of approval!

Of course I got some too.

Then my human pulled out the Yeowww! catnip crayons.

I took a whiff of it before he could get to it.

But the moment he noticed it, well, that was pretty much the end of our date.

Once he got his paws on it, he was all about the catnip toy. He played with it non stop for about 10 minutes.

And yes, this is really what it looked like after 10 minutes.

He was feeling pretty frisky by then, but I just wanted to go back inside. My human tried to pick up the toy, but he snatched it away and ran off with it.

How was your Christmas? Let me know in the comments.

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Therapy Cat on Christmas Eve Morning

I got to have a therapy cat visit with my assisted living pals on Christmas Eve morning. Which is probably the absolute best way to spend Christmas Eve morning. Because the best present you can give anyone, ever, is your time — pure, without judgement, and with love. And that’s what I do.

My human knew that her instinct to schedule us for this day was right when we entered and the first person we saw was the nonverbal woman. She held her hand out to my human, and I jumped up on the couch to spend time with her. There was a woman sitting on the other side of the couch, and at first we thought she was a resident. But it turned out she was there to look for somewhere to place her mother. She and my human chatted for a bit, while I spent lots of time visiting with the nonverbal woman.

The lady who likes my high fives was there, and she didn’t have any family for the holidays. Her mother had moved up north recently, and her sister was out of town. We also saw the sweet elderly lady who likes me a lot. One Spanish speaking lady in a wheelchair showed my human photos of her cat, but she know enough words to ask for any details.

We don’t talk about the second house we go to as much because it’s a lot quieter and not as much goes on. But I did get to see some of my regular pals there. One woman who was petting me told my human how much she missed having a kitty. Another resident was wearing a “Meowy Camas” sweater, so of course I visited with her!

Both of the residences were beautifully decked out for the holidays. It was the most festive my human has felt all season because she’s been too busy to even think. But she scheduled this visit for me anyway. Like I said, the best present you can give anyone is your time, and that includes yourself.

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Holiday High Jumping

You saw me jumping hoops recently while wearing some Christmas outfits. Now I’m putting on some different festive holiday outfits and tackling the high jump!

Some of the outfits, like my Santa dress, were easy, and others, like my Christmas tree hoodie, were more of a challenge. No, the hood did not stay on for my jumps.

I also wore my “On the Nice List” sweater.

I had so much fun doing these! You can see all my wardrobe changes, and my jumping, below.

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