In 2004, H5N1 avian influenza virus was isolated from three kittens by Kasetsart University in Thailand. The susceptibility of domestic cats was confirmed in 2006 following controlled exposure conducted at the Erasmus Medical Center in Rotterdam Holland.
On January 27th ProMED Mail reported on a case in a domestic cat located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine France. An investigation by the Health and Food Safety Agency of France implicated infection from a duck farm. The report considered the possibility of cats serving as a means of disseminating HPAI among farms and to humans but also representing a danger of emergence of a mammalian-adapted strain that could infect other animals and humans.
Generally, it is inadvisable to have domestic animals including cats in and around poultry houses. Their ability to suppress rodents is negligible and they represent a risk of pasteurellosis, salmonellosis and now HPAI.