Episode 252 - H5N1 Update - Colorado indoor only cats test positive for H5N1 - UMN Extension's The Moos Room
What is up, everybody? This is doctor Joe Armstrong. We've got an update on h five n one. This is gonna be incredibly short, but I wanna walk through an announcement that came from Colorado. And it came from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:And it's about cats, domestic cats and h five n one. We need to talk about it because it's going to impact more than the dairy industry and the poultry industry. It this is going to impact potentially people that have not been following the situation that just have cats and live either rural or potentially on the outskirts of rural or even in the cities depending on where that cat comes from. There's plenty of rescue cats. There's plenty of barn cats that end up in homes in the city, and we need to be aware of what's going on.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:So this is dated August 9th, again, coming from Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. And their announcement says that there have been 6 feline cases of influenza a h five n one that have been diagnosed in domestic cats in Colorado during 2024. Most notable in this whole thing is that of the 6, one of those cases was directly associated with a known infected commercial dairy facility. 2 of the 6 cases were indoor only cats with no direct exposure to the virus. Indoor only.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:We've been hearing rumblings about this. This is probably the most public and most official statement telling us that we have indoor only cats that are testing positive for h five n one. 3 of the 6 cases were known indoor outdoor cats that hunted mice and or small birds, and they spent time outside without the owner present. So, again, just to recap, we have one of the 6 cats that was known to be connected to an infected commercial dairy facility. 2 of the 6 cases, indoor only.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:So even if your cat doesn't go outside, they are still at risk for h five n one. Now why is this important overall? Well, this is really a message to my small animal colleagues out there that we need to be having this on our differential list. This has to be on your differential list if the signs fit, and we have to be paying attention to it. Not only because it is a risk to that individual cat and their health and their life, but it is a risk and potentially a risk factor for people that have exposure to this virus as well.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:Now, as with most influenza viruses, the signs are fairly nonspecific. So, what we're seeing for signs and and what's reported here is that we have an initial complaint of lethargy and inappetence with a progressive respiratory sign in some cats, but most consistent is progressive neurologic signs. Many of these cats were neurologic enough that they were tested for rabies. So that tells you the degree to which these neurologic signs are presenting. This is not subtle in most of these cats.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:They are neurologic enough that we have rabies on the differential list. And that is why most diagnostic labs that are getting rabies submissions for cats are are also testing them for h five n one. So, colleagues, if you have a small animal portion of your practice or you are fully small animal, We need to have this on the differential list. Cats that present with inappetence and lethargy, very nonspecific. The differential list is crazy long.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:But this should be in the back of your mind just like rabies is always in the back of your mind. Now if we see neurologic signs and those are progressive, this disease has to come up and be on your differential list for what's going on. History can help that as well and remind us that it needs to be on the differential list. At least for me, when I'm working on the small animal side and I ask certain questions, it reminds me what needs to be on my differential list. You know, indoor cat only versus outdoor cat changes what's on your differential list.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:History of where this cat came from definitely can change what's on your differential list. If it's a rescue, it was a feral cat, if it was a barn cat. We need to dig into where did the cat come from if it hasn't been owned by this person for an incredibly long time. Then we can figure out, okay. Yep.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:This was a barn cat that this person's only owned for a week. It's lethargic, and it has some neurologic signs. Because it's a barn cat, it reminds me that h five n one needs to be on the list. So big question, how are these indoor only cats getting the virus? This article has no details about that or speculation about how these cats came in contact with the virus, especially the indoor only ones.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:Now the one that's connected to an infected dairy. Okay. We can make that story pretty easy. Access to raw milk or wildlife in the area, we can get that one. Indoor only is a little more difficult.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:We have to consider people and our equipment as a fomite. You know, dirty boots coming into the house, dirty clothes coming into the house. You know, cats do weird stuff. We know that. Right?
Dr. Joe Armstrong:Are they gonna go lick your shoes and your boots if you've been someplace weird? Maybe. Are they gonna curl up in the dirty laundry? Definitely seen cats do that. So we have to think about those things, people as a fomite.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:The other piece of this, why do we traditionally have cats around? We have cats around for pest control and mice. Cats do a great job of that. But we know from some of the studies that have been done that mice can be infected with the virus. And, potentially, wild mice have a different set of genetics from lab mice and may be able to carry the virus but not die.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:So pest control without a cat involved, a plan for rodent control without a cat being part of that plan might be in our future because of the risk that this poses to our cats, the cat population, and our pet population, and the fact that those cats are now potentially bringing virus into the home. Indoor only cats. Do indoor only cats catch mice? Do you have mice in your home? There's plenty of mice in a lot of homes.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:Absolutely. Mine included. I trap a ton of mice in my garage, especially in the spring and the late fall. It's just something that happens. And there's mice that have been in a lot of homes, and those cats, if they're any good at being a cat, are gonna find those mice.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:And so I think that that is a very real possibility for how this virus is coming into homes is with the mice. Important to note, and make sure you're listening, small animal colleagues. One of the things that we know about what's going on in cats is that brains have been testing positive. That makes sense. Brain tissue, credibly positive.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:We've got neurologic signs. That makes sense. The other thing that has been testing positive in cats is urine. So cat urine has been testing positive for h five n one. We need to be aware of that because of how much urine ends up in a clinic when we're dealing with cats.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:So keep that in mind. Protect yourself. I'm not saying that you can get h five n one from cats, but we don't know, and you might as well be aware of what tissues have been testing positive, urine being one of the most positive when we're talking about cats. Alright. We're not gonna belabor this point or stretch this episode out.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:We are done. Please keep this under differential list, especially for nonspecific signs and or neurologic signs in a cat, especially. Keep it on your differential list even for indoor only cats. Alright. With that, comments, questions, scathing, rebuttals, those go to themoosroom@umn.edu.
Dr. Joe Armstrong:You can call me, 612-624-3610. Check out our website, extension.umn.edu. Thank you for listening, everybody. I'll catch you next episode. Bye.
