Two California cats died after drinking raw milk recovered from avian influenza, owner says

A California man whose two cats died after drinking raw milk recalled due to bird flu risk says he intended to protect the health of his beloved pets, but his efforts tragically backfired.

“It's scary to think that I was the one who gave them the milk that actually killed them,” said Joseph Jarnell, 56, of San Bernardino.

Jarnell lost her 14-year-old tabby cat, Alexander, and her 4-year-old tuxedo cat, Tuxie, in late November. The third cat, 4-year-old Big Boy, was hospitalized for a week until tests showed he had the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

read more: Avian influenza virus was detected in raw milk. Let me remind you how pasteurization improves safety.

She said the cats were exposed to pasteurized lots recalled by Fresno-based Raw Farms, whose dairy products were removed from California stores in December after health officials found the virus in the milk for sale. It is said that he was drinking milk that had not been prepared. The animal's death was confirmed by state and county health officials. The cats were kept indoors to avoid access to potentially infected birds and were being fed conventional pet food rather than raw food, the owners said.

Jarnell said she had been drinking raw farm milk herself for several months because she had heard it was “better for immunity and healing” than pasteurized milk. He thought it might help Alexander, who was losing weight.

“I was trying to make him healthier and live longer,” Jarnell said.

Instead, Alexander died on Thanksgiving Day. A taxi followed two days later.

Journell said Big Boy was hospitalized and treated with antiviral drugs. The veterinarian team collected a urine sample from the cat, which was tested positive for H5N1 by a laboratory run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Cornell University, records show.

Big Boy returned home blind and unable to use his hind legs, but is on the road to recovery, Journell said. The fourth cat, Cleo, did not drink milk and remained healthy.

Jarnell is seeking restitution from Law Farm owner Mark McAfee for more than $12,000 he spent treating the cat, said Seattle food safety attorney Ilana Corchia, who represents Jarnell. That's what it means.

read more: How to protect your cat from bird flu

In an interview, McAfee countered that the virus could cause disease in animals days after it is bottled and sold, citing preliminary research.

But influenza virus survival rates likely vary widely from milk lot to milk lot, said Richard Webby, an influenza expert at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Experts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously confirmed that some cats drank raw milk from infected cows. He developed a neurological disease and died..

“I think the poor cat is the best indicator!” Webby wrote in an email.

More than a dozen cats have died in California since early December after ingesting raw milk or raw pet food contaminated with bird flu, health officials said.

The outbreak follows a large outbreak of avian influenza virus in dairy cattle, affecting more than 900 dairy herds in 16 US states. About 80% of those herds are in California.

Federal and state health officials are warning people not to drink raw milk because it can transmit avian influenza and many other germs. Officials are also warning pet owners not to feed their animals unpasteurized milk or raw meat.

read more: Why is bird flu so deadly for some animals but not others? Scientists are trying to find out

The FDA warned last month that “cats should not be fed farm-made products that have not been fully cooked or pasteurized to kill the virus.”

Jarnell said that after the cats became ill, she also became ill and sought treatment at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Fontana, California. He said he was not tested for bird flu because medical staff did not test him despite known exposure to the virus. Tests are available to detect it.

A Kaiser spokesperson declined to comment specifically on Jarnell's case, but said the hospital system is following CDC guidelines for screening for avian influenza.

Although Jarnell has recovered physically, she said she still suffers from the “emotional pain” of losing her pet. Despite the challenges, he said he still believes raw milk has health benefits.

Nevertheless, he will not drink it immediately.

“That's not the case now,” he said. “And not in the near future.”