Cats can get sick with bird flu. Here's how to protect them

The death of an Oregon house cat and a pet food recall are raising questions about the ongoing outbreak of bird flu and how people can protect their pets.

Bird flu has been spreading for years in wild birds, chickens, turkeys and many other animals. It was first confirmed in U.S. dairy cattle in March.

The virus has been causing sporadic, mostly mild illnesses in people in the U.S., and nearly all of those infected worked on dairy or poultry farms. When the virus is found, every bird on a farm is killed to limit the spread of the disease.

Oregon health officials traced the cat's illness to frozen cat food that contained raw turkey. Virus recovered from the recalled pet food and the infected cat matched.