Cat Food Product Recalled Due to Bird Flu, 1 Death Confirmed

• Washington pet food company Wild Coast Raw issued a voluntary recall for its Frozen Boneless Free Range Chicken Formula, a raw cat food, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Saturday, March 1, due to “the potential to be contaminated with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 also known as bird flu”
• Lot #22660 of the product is the only one “currently linked to illness in cats,” per Wild Coast founder Tyler Duncan, who also noted that one pet seemingly died as a result of consuming the recalled products
• Wild Coast’s voluntary recall comes amid bird flu outbreaks in both poultry and cows across the U.S. The first human to die from the disease in the country was confirmed in January

A Washington company has recalled one of its products because it has the potential to be contaminated with bird flu. One pet has already died as a result of consuming the product, according to the brand.

Wild Coast Raw, a pet food company based out of Olympia, Wash., issued a voluntary recall for its Frozen Boneless Free Range Chicken Formula, a raw cat food, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Saturday, March 1.

The product has been recalled because they have “the potential to be contaminated with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 also known as bird flu,” the FDA said, noting that H5N1 “can be transmitted to animals eating contaminated product.”

Both the 16 oz. and 24 oz. sizes of the products, which were distributed to retailers in Washington and Oregon, are potentially contaminated, the FDA said. The affected lots are #22653, #22641, #22639, #22672, #22660 and #22664, with all having a best buy date of December 2025.

Lot #22660 is the only one “currently linked to illness in cats,” but the company feels it is “important to expand this recall to cover any potentially impacted products,” Wild Coast founder Tyler Duncan later clarified in a letter to customers on the company’s website.

People whose cats have already consumed the recalled lots, the FDA said, “should watch for symptoms of bird flu in their pets, including fever, lethargy, low appetite, reddened or inflamed eyes, discharge from the eyes and nose, difficulty breathing, and neurological signs like tremors, stiff body movements, seizure, lack of coordination, or blindness.”

If pets are showing any of these symptoms after eating the food, their owner should contact a vet, and those who have already purchased the recalled product should discard it, the agency cautioned.

The voluntary recall was issued after the Oregon Department of Agriculture and Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) conducted sampling and discovered the same strain of H5N1 in the recalled products and cats who tested positive for the flu, according to the FDA.

It was also issued after one pet seemingly died as a result of consuming the recalled products, per Duncan’s letter to Wild Coast customers.

“The safety of our products and that of our customers’ beloved pets is always our top priority. We were devastated to learn of the passing of a beloved pet, and our hearts go out to the owner,” the founder wrote.

The Olympia company, he said, “will continue to work with WSDA and all regulatory bodies as they investigate.” Duncan also said the brand has transitioned to “fully cooked poultry recipes” to eliminate any potential risk of bird flu in its products.

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At least two cats in Washington have already been infected with bird flu, and one of them was euthanized “due to the severity of the illness,” the WSDA previously announced in a Feb. 26 news release.

At the time, there had “been no documented human cases of HPAI following exposure to an infected cat or contaminated raw pet food products,” the department noted.

Wild Coast’s voluntary recall comes amid bird flu outbreaks in both poultry and cows across the U.S. The first human to die from the disease in the country was confirmed in January.