Which RAWR cat food lots were recalled for bird flu?

The FDA advisory covers two lots of RAWR Raw Cat Food Chicken Eats: Lot CCS 25 077 with Sell By date 09/18/26, and Lot CCS 25 093 with Sell By date 10/03/26. The product was distributed nationwide through retail stores and online direct-to-consumer channels. If you have either lot in your freezer, do not feed it and dispose of it securely.

Was a cat killed by RAWR Raw Cat Food H5N1?

Yes. A California cat that ate RAWR Raw Cat Food Chicken Eats was severely sickened with H5N1 avian influenza and had to be euthanized after supportive care failed to reverse the neurologic decline. The FDA testing that identified H5N1 in the RAWR lots was triggered by this consumer complaint. Laboratory analysis identified the virus as genotype B3.13, the dominant U.S. outbreak strain in 2024-2025.

RAWR Raw Cat Food 2025 H5N1 Recall

Q: What is H5N1 genotype B3.13 and why does it matter?

Genotype B3.13 is the dominant U.S. H5N1 outbreak strain in the 2024-2025 epidemic affecting commercial and wild birds, dairy cattle, dairy farm workers, and a growing range of mammals including domestic and wild cats. It carries documented mammalian-adaptation mutations that increase feline pathogenicity. B3.13 has been detected in multiple raw cat food brands during the 2024-2025 period (Northwest Naturals, Wild Coast Raw, Monarch Raw, Savage Pet, RAWR), linking raw poultry sourcing during the active outbreak to feline illness and death.

Status: Active advisory. The FDA notified pet owners that certain lots of RAWR Raw Cat Food Chicken Eats — specifically Lot CCS 25 077 (Sell By 09/18/26) and Lot CCS 25 093 (Sell By 10/03/26) — tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1). Laboratory analysis identified the virus as genotype B3.13, the dominant U.S. dairy-cattle outbreak strain that had previously been found in other raw poultry-based pet food brands associated with feline illness or death. A California cat that ate the recalled product was sickened with bird flu and had to be euthanized.

What was recalled

The FDA advisory covers two lots of RAWR Raw Cat Food Chicken Eats: Lot CCS 25 077 with Sell By date 09/18/26 and Lot CCS 25 093 with Sell By date 10/03/26. The product is sold in retail stores nationwide and online through the manufacturer’s direct-to-consumer channel. The FDA testing was triggered by a California consumer complaint after a house cat that had been fed RAWR Raw Cat Food Chicken Eats sliders became severely ill with respiratory and neurologic signs consistent with avian influenza.

The FDA published its formal notification at its CVM Updates archive. Laboratory analysis identified the virus as genotype B3.13, the dominant U.S. dairy-cattle and commercial-poultry outbreak strain that had been previously detected in Northwest Naturals (December 2024), Wild Coast Raw (early 2025), Monarch Raw Pet Food (December 2024), and Savage Pet (March 2025) raw cat foods linked to feline illness or death.

Why it was recalled

The 2024-2025 U.S. HPAI H5N1 outbreak has produced an unprecedented spillover of avian influenza into mammals, including dairy cattle, dairy farm workers, wild and domestic cats, and a growing range of other species. Raw cat food sourced from U.S. poultry during this active outbreak carries category-level H5N1 exposure risk because: (1) routine pet food pathogen testing panels (Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli) do not include H5N1; (2) standard raw-food processing including high-pressure processing (HPP) does not reliably inactivate avian influenza virus in muscle meat; (3) genotype B3.13 has documented mammalian-adaptation mutations that increase feline pathogenicity. The CIDRAP coverage at University of Minnesota’s infectious disease research center documents the genotype identification and traceback methodology.

Health risks for your pet

Feline H5N1 from raw pet food sources presents acutely with severe lethargy, anorexia, fever, respiratory distress (open-mouth breathing, nasal discharge), and rapidly progressing neurologic signs including ataxia, tremors, seizures, and cortical blindness. The clinical course is rapid — symptoms typically appear within days of exposure and progress over 24-72 hours. Published case series put feline H5N1 mortality above 50% in symptomatic cats, with even higher rates in cats with neurologic involvement. The California cat in the RAWR traceback had to be euthanized after supportive care failed to reverse the neurologic decline. There is also documented zoonotic risk to humans through close contact with infected cats or contaminated product; the CDC has tracked multiple human H5N1 cases in U.S. dairy and poultry workers during the 2024-2025 outbreak, though no human infection has been definitively traced to RAWR product as of the FDA notification. The AVMA’s feline-HPAI clinical guidance documents the presentation pattern and supportive-care protocol.

What to do if you bought affected product

If you have any RAWR Raw Cat Food Chicken Eats with Lot CCS 25 077 or Lot CCS 25 093 in your freezer, do not feed it and dispose of the product securely so wildlife cannot scavenge it. Wash food bowls, prep surfaces, and hands with hot soapy water; H5N1 is inactivated by standard household disinfectants and by heat above 60°C. If your cat ate the recalled product and shows lethargy, respiratory difficulty, or neurologic signs (tremors, ataxia, seizures, vision loss), contact your veterinarian immediately and disclose the raw-food exposure history. State veterinary diagnostic labs run PCR testing for suspected feline H5N1 cases; samples to USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) provide genotype confirmation.

How this affects KibbleIQ’s grade

RAWR is not in the KibbleIQ scored database — our methodology v15 covers commercial dry kibble, fresh cooked food, and selected raw-coated kibble per our published methodology. The 2025 H5N1 event reflects a category-level risk specific to raw poultry-based pet food during the ongoing 2022–2025 HPAI outbreak, not a single-brand quality-systems failure that any one manufacturer could fully prevent. The FDA has since required cat and dog food manufacturers to consider H5N1 in their food safety plans (an unprecedented regulatory action for an avian influenza in a pet food context), but until poultry sourcing protocols and pathogen-inactivation processing catch up to the outbreak epidemiology, raw poultry pet food carries elevated structural risk. Pet owners committed to raw feeding should look for brands with documented HPAI sourcing protocols and ask whether processing steps inactivate avian influenza specifically, not just bacterial pathogens.