January 2025

New declawing ban, H5N1 bird flu update, no more Red Dye No. 3,

Massachusetts bans cat declawing!

In January, 2025, Massachusetts became the third state to ban cat declawing. It joined New York and Maryland in acknowledging the barbaric nature of this completely unnecessary surgery. For more information (well, TMI, really) about declawing, why it’s so bad for cats, and what to do instead, download our free ebook, The Cat Lover’s Anti-Declawing Handbook.

Bird Flu Update

Much of my time this month has been taken up researching the whole avian flu or H5N1 or HPAI thing, whatever name you want to give it. Here are a few facts I’ve gathered for you:

This avian virus (Type A influenza) has been around since 1996. It has come around to the U.S. twice, the first time in 2014. This outbreak began in 2021. The H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b infection has been circulating since 2021. The current clade infecting cats is B3.13, which has gained prominence since last July. It has a unique molecular switch that is better than a fingerprint on a murder weapon for identifying its source. So when you hear conspiracy lovers saying “it floated through the air and got in the food” or some such nonsense, stick with the science.

Even though the Northwest Naturals cat food had undergone HPP (high pressure pasteurization), there are many combinations of time, temperature and pressure that are used. Avian flu is mostly susceptible to most HPP. However, 17 animals who were eating that batch of food died, including one domestic cat, 15 exotic and big cats, and a fox.

Raw milk is particularly dangerous because infected cows produce huge numbers of virus particles that concentrate in the udder. Bird flu has been found in more than 900 dairies in the U.S. (most in California, where raw milk is legal), but only 10% of cows have become ill, and the cull rate is less than 2%.

To date, there have been 81 fatal cases in domestic cats: 2 in 2022, 13 in 2023, a bunch (you do the math) in 2024, and 8 in 2025 (2 in Los Angeles, one in Northern California, two in South Dakota, one each in Kansas, Iowa, and New Orleans).

Many exotic cats have also died, including seven servals, six tigers, two lynx, one Geoffrey’s cat, one Savannah, one Amur leopard, one African lion, 12 bobcats, and 34 mountain lions. Twenty of these (including the Savannah, lynx, and 5 servals) were from one sanctuary in Washington state.

Other affected carnivores include foxes, coyotes, skunks, weasels, raccoons, otters, dolphins, bears, and seals, as well as opossums – unusual because they are extremely resistant to another famously fatal virus, rabies.

Mice are commonly infected, squirrels rarely. Wild birds are the main reservoir. These are all a concern for our indoor/outdoor, stray and feral cats.

Here are my current recommendations (a few changes from last time):

· Keep cats indoors, walked on a harness or leash so you can control what they sniff or eat, or in a secure outdoor enclosure with mesh small enough to exclude birds and rodents. That’s a very big deal. Most existing enclosures will need to be screened in carefully to keep the little rodents out. Mice and shrews can get through itty bitty holes. Transmission from wild animals is my biggest concern.

· Grocery-store meat, poultry and eggs are probably safe to feed raw. Yes, it’s possible that a sick chicken or turkey could get through the slaughter process. But the time from infection to death in poultry is hours, so it’s not likely, given the increased vigilance happening now.

· Commercial raw pet diets using HPP are most likely safe. The FDA has ordered raw pet food makers to account for bird flu in their safety plans, but has not set any time limits or specifications. I have to think that manufacturers using HPP have adjusted their settings to those known to inactivate avian flu (there is research on this).

· I would not recommend feeding any raw, dehydrated or freeze-dried food that has not undergone HPP unless you cook it. The recommended temperature is 165 ^oF, but that’s a bit much. In my opinion (based on my knowledge of basic science but not backed by research), 120 ^oF should be enough to inactivate the average virus.

· To make up for losing the “live” factor in raw food, add digestive enzymes, prebiotics, and probiotics. This product contains all three. Also add a little extra moisture (water or broth) to maintain hydration, and if feeding cooked food long-term, add a B vitamin complex.

Red Dye No. 3 Ban

After decades of warnings about the potential toxicity of food dyes, the FDA finally banned Red Dye No. 3. Not Red 40, not Blue 2, not Yellow 5, or any other dye. Just Red 3.

All of the chemical food dyes were originally made from coal tar but are now derived from petroleum. They provide no nutritional value whatsoever and are used purely for looks.

Dyes are very, very common in many foods, including in pet foods. When I was young and didn’t know better, I fed Meow Mix. The kibbles were unnaturally multi-colored: brown, yellow, red. (Spirit lived 20 years despite my stupidity—they don’t make cats like that anymore!) Canned food isn’t exempt, either. (You didn’t think those little round green things were real peas, did you?)

The pet food industry claims it won't be much affected by this ban. Indeed, in the past few years, most companies have moved to more “natural” coloring choices. Natural colors are more expensive, but consumer preferences are changing so the industry is changing too, however reluctantly.

Now, natural means only that at some point a substance came from nature. But that covers a lot of territory. After all, rust comes from nature. It’s a nice color. Commonly used natural colorings include annatto (yellow, from seeds), dried beets (purple-ish), carmine (red, from insects), and caramel (yellow to tan, from burnt sugar).

But good old Meow Mix still contains Yellow 6, Yellow 6, Red 40, and Blue 2; Purina Cat Chow boasts Red 40, Blue 2, and Yellow 5. But none of those are Red 3, so those dyes will continue to be shamelessly put in food for our pets.

While some remain hopeful that the other artificial food dyes will also be banned, the glacial pace at which FDA moves makes this unlikely. After all, they’ve known that Red 3 causes cancer since 1990. Why rush?

You may ask wonder pet food needs so many dyes and colorings. Aren’t the ingredients normally kind of brown anyway? Well, no. The rendered ingredients found in dry foods generally come from slaughterhouse waste. Regulations require that such materials be “denatured” to identify them and prevent them sneaking back into the human food supply. In practical terms this involves dyeing them with grape juice or charcoal. This gives them a distinctly unpleasant grayish color. Hence, the pet food made with them must also be dyed. For the cheaper brands especially, this involves lightening the color (often with titanium dioxide, also known as “white paint,” though it is gradually falling out of favor) and then dyeing them a suitably meaty brown hue.

There’s a lot wrong with modern commercial pet food. Red 3 doesn’t happen to be one of them. But if you want to know what to watch out for, and what better options there are for your cat, you just might want to get my best-selling ebook, What Cats Should Eat. Yeah, I know, it’s the 2022 edition, and I was just about to hit “publish” on the updated version when bird flu happened, so now I’m writing a whole new chapter! The good news is that if you get the current version, when the new one goes live, Amazon will automatically update it the next time you open it! For free! (Oh, and don’t worry if you don’t have a Kindle, you can read it on any smart phone, tablet or computer!

See you guys soon! In the meantime, hang in there!

Everything’s gonna be okay!