The deadly bird flu may have already infected at least some of the half-million stray cats roaming the Big Apple, animal activists warn — a troubling scenario that could threaten humans, too.
There have not yet been any confirmed cases of felines contracting the H5N1 virus ravaging the country’s fowl populations, but some animal advocates are saying the jump from birds to cats is inevitable — and may have already occurred in New York 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, the founder of Spay Neuter Intervention Project NYC, to The Post.
There have been 66 confirmed cases of the avian flu in cats across the country, where most of the instances were linked to the animals eating infected foods and prompting officials to raise alarm bells for the “susceptible” feline population as the virus continues to rip through avian flocks across the city.
Last week, the city warned against allowing cats to roam outdoors “where they may hunt wild birds or other animals” and from ingesting raw food diets that could have been tainted by infected birds.
Avian flu cases in the Big Apple have been rapidly spreading in 2025, with nearly 2,000 birds across five flocks found to be affected compared to 4,870 birds across all of the previous two years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
More than a dozen ducks and wild birds at the Queens and Bronx zoos have been killed by the suspected virus so far this year. A red-tailed hawk in The Bronx, a great horned owl in Queens and a swan in Brooklyn have also fallen victim to the deadly flu, according to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The surge in cases led Gov. Kathy Hochul to temporarily shut down all live poultry markets in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County earlier this month.
The bird flu can travel from fowl to humans, although cases are rare, the state Department of Health says.
The avian flu also can be transmitted from cats to humans, but again, the instances are few and far between, the CDC says.
Either way, some activists worry the flu’s spread may have already reached the city’s felines.
Massaro, who feeds the stray cats of Willets Point in Queens multiple days a week and neuters them when she can catch them, has witnessed the felines stalking the slaughterhouses for scraps.
Cats also are notorious hunters, and strays will go after whatever they can get their paws on, even when they’re not hungry, she emphasized.
“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 throughout the five boroughs, Massaro theorized the flu might have already breached the feline population.
When cats become infected, they show signs of respiratory illness such as sneezing and difficulty breathing, as well as severe depression and even seizures, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
It’s not yet known if cats can spread the disease 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 the Shelter Medicine Services at ASPCA, told The Post, adding that the overall risk to cats at the moment is 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.”
Animal Control Cares of NYC, which is overseen by the city, said there are no suspected cases of the avian flu in cats but could not say how the agency knew for sure.
The agency also did not answer questions about whether the organization is performing necropsies on dead stray cats without obvious body 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, adding that necropsies are typically only performed on abused animals or pets partly because the procedure can cost between $500 and $1,000.
“I don’t think that they do them routinely,” the advocate said of necropsies on the city’s other dead stray kitties. “But maybe they should start. Maybe they should look at animals that were picked up diseased that have no body trouble.”
