French cat owners panicking over bird flu
Some cat owners in France were panicking today that their pets might catch lethal bird flu, bombarding the animal protection society with anxious calls after a dead cat in Germany tested positive for the lethal H5N1 strain of avian influenza.
“We are getting calls from cat owners wanting to know if there are risks, people who are panicking and wondering what they should do with their cats, and people who are abandoning their cats,” said the association’s president, Serge Belais.
“A panic is starting,” he said. He said he had no immediate figures on how many cats were being abandoned, but added: “The risk is that we’ll see the deluge in the days or weeks to come.”
The German cat was the first infected mammal in continental Europe.
Even before the German case was announced yesterday, France’s government had asked the national food safety agency for a study on the risks of cats getting bird flu. Results are expected this week.
