Cats catch bird flu

last updated 8 January 2015

Vienna

The deadly strain of avian flu has infected two cats in Europe, one in Germany and one in Austria. Health officials in the two countries said the disease does not appear to be transmissible from cat to cat, but rather, from bird to cat. That has also been the case in Asia, where cats that ate infected birds contracted the flu. Still, the infection in European mammals is causing concern. “There’s an enormous outcry,” said Mayor Gerhard Zapfl of Nickelsdorf, Austria. “Everyone is worried.” The E.U. has not required cat owners to keep their pets inside, but many are doing so anyway.