The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is warning the public to not feed their pets Monarch Raw Pet Food after the bird flu virus was found in the product. The food was sold at several farmers markets in California. You can see a list of the farmers markets where the pet food was sold at the Monarch web site. There is no mention of this issue on the Monarch site.
A house cat that ate the food has been confirmed sick with the H5 bird flu. Four other house cats from the same household are presumed to be positive for the virus after eating this product. Public health officials found the virus in product samples.
Cats infected with H5 bird flu can develop severe illness that may include neurologic signs, respiratory signs, or liver disease that can rapidly progress to death. There have been no human cases of bird flu that are associated with exposure to these cats.
If you purchased this pet food, do not feed it to your pets. You can throw it away in a secure trash can with a tight fitting lid, after first double bagging the product so animals can’t get at it, or you can take it back to the place of purchase for a refund.
If you did feed this item to your pets, watch them for signs of illness. If they do get sick after eating this Monarch Raw Pet Food, take them to your veterinarian immediately.
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