The H5N1 virus has killed innumerable pet and barn cats. A new published study indicates death may be avoided if infected cats are treated with antiviral medications, such as Tamiflu (oseltamivir). Jake Gomez, a veterinarian in Tulare, California, who successfully treated cats last fall, worked with other researchers to author the case published in ‘One Health.’
Source: Los Angeles Times, September 25, 2025. Link. Kristen Coleman, an airborne infectious disease researcher at the University of Maryland School of Public Health, and an author on the paper, said the findings suggest that cats may be effectively treated and that antiviral medications could help prevent further spread of the virus among cats living in the same home and the humans who care for them.
Editor’s note: Within the article, Jane Sykes, a UC-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, cautions that this treatment is experimental.