3/17/25

Savage Cat updated their public announcement on 3/14/25, modifying their market withdrawal to a recall, “to ensure maximum safety”. This recall pertains to Large and Small Chicken Boxes originally distributed in November 2024 with lot number 11152026.

The event that prompted modifying from withdrawal to recall: 

Savage Cat was made aware on 3/13/25 that another cat (this one in New York) having been fed their Large and/or Small Chicken Boxes from lot 11152026 has contracted avian flu. Further testing is ongoing.

From Savage Cat: “All retailers who may have received the product with lot code/best buy date of 11152026 which was sold in Large and Small Chicken Boxes in November 2024 have been contacted. Any consumers who may still have the affected lot code are urged return it to their retailer for a full refund.”

According to NYC.gov on 3/15/25:

“Cat A became ill this month and was hospitalized with fever, loss of appetite and severe respiratory disease following consumption of chicken packets from Savage Cat Food with the lot number 11152026. Testing for H5 bird flu was performed at the Cornell Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and confirmatory H5N1 testing by the U.S.D.A. National Veterinary Services Laboratory (NVSL) is pending. The cat died as a result of the infection. 

A second cat, cat B, was diagnosed with H5N1 and testing was confirmed by NVSL last month. This cat developed fever and severe respiratory and liver disease and also died as a result of infection. Additional testing recently performed at NVSL suggests the cat was infected with an H5N1 strain related to that found in Savage Cat food, lot 11152026. This cat did not consume the raw food product but was exposed to a sick cat, cat C. Cat C became ill with fever after consuming Savage Cat Food lot number 11152026. Cat C survived and H5 testing was not performed and cannot be performed as too much time has passed. “

3/7/25

Wild Coast Raw expanded their voluntary recall of Boneless Free Range Chicken Formula raw pet food for “the potential to be contaminated with Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1, also known as bird flu”.  The 16oz and 24 oz product was distributed to retailers in Washington state and Oregon.  Affected lots have a sticker on the lid indicating lots#22660, #22653, #22641, #22639, #22672 and #22664 with a Best Buy date of 12/25. Read Wild Coast Raw’s letter to customers and full FDA statement for more.

3/6/25

Savage Cat updated their public statement  with final results from the virus isolation testing.  The test came back negative, which means that no HPAI was found to be present in the lots of food voluntarily withdrawn in February.

“The product with “not negative” PCR results was sent to the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa for virus isolation testing. Virus isolation testing is currently the only laboratory test that determines if the DNA in the product is infective. These virus isolation test results came back confirmed negative on 03/06/25.

“We hope that consumers will continue to have — or regain — confidence in raw cat food due to the pathogen control that manufacturers employ and the security measures the USDA has in place at the supply-chain level,”

2/17/25

Savage Cat  issued a letter to its customers informing them that a customer’s cat contracted HPAI, was ill, and recovered.  Savage Pet contacted the Colorado State Veterinarian for verification on 1/30/25 but did not receive a response till 2/13/25.  The response was preliminary, and not actually conclusive.  Two sealed packets tested negative for the virus, and one came back ‘not negative’. ‘Not negative’ is a “technical laboratory term for results that are preliminary in nature. To determine infectiousness, further virus isolation testing is required.”  This is the only kind of test that can determine conclusively if the food contains the virus or not.  Read our full blog post on the original Savage Cat voluntary withdrawal.

2/14/25

The Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) and Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) issued public health alerts after testing confirmed that two indoor cats in Oregon had become severely ill.  Affected lots of Wild Coast Raw have a sticker on the lid with #22660 or #22664  and best-by date of December 2025.  Two cats were euthanized as a consequence of the avian flu virus.

Samples from both the affected cats and open containers of the raw pet food tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI/H5N1).

12/24/24 – 2/19/25

Northwest Naturals issued a voluntary recall of their 2lb Feline Turkey Recipe Frozen Raw Pet Food after testing positive for the bird flu virus (HPAI avian influenza).   Later it was confirmed that the bag that was tested was an open (as opposed to sealed/never opened) bag, which calls into question any test results from that bag.  The HPN1 virus is highly contagious and may have been transmitted from the cat to the bag (rather than the reverse). For full timeline and details read our blog on this story.