In another example of The Simpsons famously “predicting” the future, mainstream media outlets are fearmongering about the potential of house cats catching bird flu as the scientific establishment tries to hype up hysteria about what could be the “next pandemic.”
In the show’s 2010 episode “The Fool Monty,” a shadowy group of American media heads seeking a “phony crisis” to scare citizens end up deciding on a “deadly disease” called, “house cat flu.”
Now, outlets such as NBC News and the New York Post are citing the CDC and NYC Department of Health warning pet cats are in danger of contracting bird flu, especially if they consume raw chicken meat.
The news comes as millions of Americans are switching to raw pet food over less natural dry kibble diets.
NBC reported on an Oregon man who bought his cat raw food at a pet store that ended up giving the feline bird flu and eventually forced him to put the cat down.
The San Diego Union-Tribune published an article Tuesday with a section titled, “Not feline good,” that focused on domestic cats catching the disease from their farm worker owners.
While there haven’t been any reports of cats transmitting bird flu to people, University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health Professor of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology Suresh Kuchipudi said the potential increases as more cats get sick.
“We don’t have the evidence, but it doesn’t mean that it may not have happened, or it can’t happen,” Kuchipudi said.