Introduction
While cats and dogs have been known to become infected with avian influenza, the exact mode of the infection is unclear. It is assumed that these animals become infected with the virus when they ate poultry or wild birds which were infected with the avian influenza. It is unknown if cats and dogs can then spread the virus to one another, but for now this type of transmission is considered to be unlikely.
Causes of Avian Influenza in Dogs and Cats
In areas of Asia, Africa, and Europe, cats that have been exposed to poultry flocks that were infected with avian influenza tested positive for the virus. It is assumed that the cats were killing and eating some of the infected poultry, though it is still in question whether all of the cats became infected in this way. Many of the cats that tested positive for the virus were already in declining health from poor diet and other types of respiratory viruses, and it is not known if underlying medical problems increases their chances of becoming infected with the virus.
Only in rare cases have dogs been known to become infected with avian influenza, and most of the studies of dogs which tested positive for avian influenza were performed in dogs which were infected with the virus for laboratory studies. So it is not known if dogs are really susceptible to this virus in nature. While there have been a handful of reports which indicate dogs may have become infected from the virus from eating birds which carried the virus, there is still much that remains unknown about how dogs may become infected with avian influenza.