Animal rights activists are sounding the alarm over the possibility that the lethal bird flu may have already spread to some of New York City’s estimated half-million stray cats, a troubling situation that could also pose a risk to humans.
While there haven’t been any confirmed instances of cats contracting the H5N1 virus, which has been devastating bird populations across the U.S., animal advocates are warning that the transmission of the virus from birds to cats is likely imminent—and might have already occurred within the city.
“I do believe at some point, cats are going to pick a bird that’s infected. It’s just a matter of time,” said Regina Massaro, founder of Spay Neuter Intervention Project NYC, in an interview with The Post.
Across the country, 66 cases of avian flu have been confirmed in cats, most of which were linked to the animals consuming infected food. This has prompted health authorities to sound the alarm about the risks to the “susceptible” feline population as the virus continues to ravage avian flocks in the city.
Just last week, the city issued a warning advising that cats should not be allowed outdoors “where they may hunt wild birds or other animals” or eat raw food that might be contaminated with the virus from infected birds.
The number of avian flu cases in New York City has surged in 2025, with nearly 2,000 birds across five separate flocks testing positive for the virus, a sharp rise compared to the 4,870 cases reported in the previous two years combined, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At the Queens and Bronx zoos, more than a dozen ducks and wild birds have died from the suspected virus so far this year. Additionally, a red-tailed hawk in the Bronx, a great horned owl in Queens, and a swan in Brooklyn have also succumbed to the deadly illness, according to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The rapid spread of the virus prompted Governor Kathy Hochul to temporarily close all live poultry markets in New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County earlier this month.
Although bird flu can be transmitted from fowl to humans, cases are rare, according to the state Department of Health. Similarly, while transmission from cats to humans is possible, such occurrences are infrequent, the CDC says.
Regardless, animal activists are concerned that the flu may have already infected the city’s cat population.
Massaro, who feeds the stray cats of Willets Point in Queens several times a week and neuters them whenever possible, has observed the cats scavenging around slaughterhouses for leftover food.
Cats are natural hunters, Massaro explained, and strays will often pursue prey even if they are not hungry, simply out of instinct.
“It’s a natural instinct. They go after the birds. That’s what they do,” Massaro said.
With an estimated 500,000 stray cats wandering the five boroughs, Massaro speculates that the flu may have already infiltrated the feline population.
When cats become infected, they exhibit symptoms of respiratory illness, such as sneezing and labored breathing, in addition to signs of severe depression and even seizures, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
It is still unclear whether cats can transmit the virus to one another.
“Cats have an increased risk if they are in contact with poultry or dairy cows on farms or in backyard flocks, are exposed to sick or deceased wild birds, particularly waterfowl such as geese and ducks, consume unpasteurized dairy products or raw or undercooked poultry, including raw diets, or are in contact with people or other animals known to be infected with H5N1,” Dr. Stephanie Janeczko, vice president of shelter medicine services at the ASPCA, told The Post. However, she added that the overall risk to cats is currently considered low.
“We recommend that all cats exposed to H5N1 or those suspected of being infected with the virus should be evaluated by a veterinarian,” she advised.
Animal Control Cares of NYC, the city agency overseeing stray animals, stated that no cases of avian flu have been reported in cats but did not clarify how they reached this conclusion.
The agency also did not respond to inquiries about whether it is conducting necropsies on deceased stray cats that show no obvious signs of trauma.
“You know that the ones that you pick up off the street with its eyeballs hanging out of its head, it was struck by a vehicle,” Massaro said. She added that necropsies are generally performed only on abused animals or pets, as the procedure can cost between $500 and $1,000.
“I don’t think that they do them routinely,” Massaro remarked about the city’s handling of dead stray cats. “But maybe they should start. Maybe they should look at animals that were picked up diseased that have no body trouble.”
{Matzav.com}
When will we hear of the arrests of those making the Bird Flu?
Maybe they should be used by the DSNY to get rid of rats
Destroying thousands of cattle, chicken and eggs is not enough. Now they’re out to destroy people’s pets. Do you understand why we need Elon Musk and Kash Patel?
When the police in New York start coming around to city resident’s private houses and apartments and telling them that now their pet cats got the Bird Flu and must be taken to be put down, I just hope that the people will finally realize that “enough is enough!!” and will insultingly tell the offices to “jump in the lake!!” and show them the door.
I further hope that the police officers themselves (being sent on cat removal operations) will soon get very tired of climbing the endless flights of steep stairs in the countless drab looking “big box” 30 & more story apartment buildings that fill New York (and many other major US cities), especially when at almost all of the apartment doors they knock on there is no answer, and the one or two that do begin to open are quickly slammed in their faces.
Then, with badly worn out legs and no caught cats to show, I further hope that they will simply revert back to their real jobs of giving out parking tickets and stopping speeding drivers and breaking up street drug gangs.