The director of the Wild Feline Advocacy Center in Shelton said he used to have 37 cats and now only has 17. Some of the surviving cats are still recovering.
SHELTON, WA — A Stray cat sanctuary Mason County announced that more than half of its big cats have died due to an outbreak of bird flu.
The Washington State Department of Health confirmed that avian influenza was detected at the Mason County Wildlife Advocacy Center.
“This situation is being investigated by WSDA and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to determine the possible source of infection for the feline.”
“We’ve lost 20 cats to this virus, or symptoms of this avian influenza virus,” said Mark Matthews, director of the Wild Feline Advocacy Center.
of Wild Feline Advocacy Center is a non-profit wild cat sanctuary located on Hastin Island. Matthews founded the sanctuary 20 years ago, and the animals are where his heart is. He said he never imagined something like this would happen.
“Every day I wake up and wish it was a bad dream, but it wasn’t,” Matthews said.
At the end of November, there were 37 cats at the sanctuary, but that number has now decreased to 17.
Matthews said the first cat became ill around Thanksgiving, and the state confirmed several cats with avian influenza in early December.
The center is currently closed and isolated, with only a select few allowed inside. PPE must be worn when around cats.
Of the remaining cats, one is in critical condition, four are recovering and 12 are asymptomatic, Matthews said.
The center is counting on financial support from the community, as it will have to throw away thousands of pounds of meat to pay for the cats’ treatment and to keep them safe. Matthews said he has incurred about $20,000 to $30,000 in damages over the past month.
“I think by the time it’s all said and done the damages will probably be around $150,000,” Matthews said.
A veterinarian in Washington state told KING 5 that cats are most often infected through infected carcasses or meat products.
“Cats are very susceptible to avian influenza viruses,” says Dr. Amber Eitle, a Washington state veterinarian.
She said Washington has had an outbreak of bird flu for nearly three years and has seen mammals die from the virus. Mammals they have confirmed to be infected include cats, raccoons, and seals.
According to the Washington State Department of Agriculture, there have been 11 confirmed cases of avian influenza in humans in the state, all involving farm workers infected from poultry. None of them had serious symptoms.
“What we’re seeing right now is there’s no evidence of mammal-to-mammal transmission, and there’s no evidence of mammal-to-human or human-to-human transmission,” Dr. Eitl said.
The Wild Feline Advocacy Center is still closed to guests and is scheduled to reopen in the spring. They have set up a donation link on their website.
If you would like to know more about avian influenza, please click here.
