The Department of Health has confirmed two cases of cats with the avian flu in New York City. One of those cats has since been identified as Valentino, who lived in Bushwick.
The life of Valentino was not an easy one. He had multiple health issues including diabetes. Dr. Natara Loose, veterinarian and owner of The Neighborhood Vet in Bushwick, seemed to be the right fit as his pet parent.
"He had contracted [feline infectious peritonitis] shortly after he was adopted. The rescue was like, we're not paying for this. Euthanize him. And my technician's like, well, we know somebody that will help," said Dr. Loose.
Dr. Loose says Valentino was a memorable character, involved in everything. But one day, Valentino seemed off.
"He was hiding. And that was very atypical for him…We had to search the hospital for him and we brought him out and he had 106 fever…He just didn't feel good," said Dr. Loose.
Days later, she says things took a turn for the worse and his condition became so bad they had to euthanize him. After he died, Valentino had tested positive for the avian flu.
Dr. Loose believes he got it from another cat who visited the clinic after getting sick from eating Savage Food products. The brand was later recalled for possible contamination of the avian flu.
"He was only 13 months old. He had nine lives in those 13 months," said Dr. Loose.
The Department of Health says pet owners should avoid feeding their animals raw food or milk. Dr. Loose did neither of those things. She says a cat giving another cat avian flu is extremely rare, but yet it still happened.
"I feel like food companies, in all honesty, should take the extra step and they should, especially right now, if they've got poultry, they should be pre-screening every single lot to make sure there's no bird flu," said Dr. Loose.
The Department of Health says if your cat is experiencing sickness after eating Savage Food products to contact your veterinarian.
