HARSTINE ISLAND, Washington — The Wild Felid Advocacy Center near in Washington lost 20 wild cats after bird fly swept through the big cat sanctuary.
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The sanctuary is dealing with the deaths and health protocols after bird flu wiped out more than half of their big cat population, our Seattle sister station KIRO-7 reported.
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The people who run the sanctuary located on Harstine Island, Washington say the death of the cats feels like a death in the family.
They are working to figure out how the cats caught the viral infection and how to keep those remaining safe.
Melinda Mathews lives at the sanctuary full-time with her husband, Mark, who founded the nonprofit in 2006.
“They’re drowning, basically, in their own lungs,” Melinda said. “They were immensely suffering. It was the hardest thing, so hard.”
The first cat to get sick was a cougar named Hannah Wyoming, back in mid-November, KIRO-7 reported.
The veterinarian thought she had cancer. When an African Caracal, Crackle, got sick, they thought it was cancer too.
Both cats died, and others soon followed.
“Basically, we’ve lost a cat every day for about two and a half weeks,” Mark said.
It wasn’t until Dec. 17 that the Washington State University Veterinary lab confirmed that the cats were dying from bird flu.
“Bird flu is real,” Mark said. “And it’s been verified at our sanctuary.”
When asked if he felt like he let the cats down, Mark said, “In a way. I feel like I could have done something better. But I’m not sure what that would have been besides testing the food source.”
The sanctuary is under quarantine with strict protocols to keep the 17 cats who remain alive. This includes disinfecting their footwear, don masks and gloves, and depending on how close they will be to the cats, wear gowns, KIRO-7 reported.
All of the protocols must be followed while they mourn the loss of the animals they devoted their lives to protect.
“I miss them so much,” Melinda said. “It’s just empty. It’s empty without them.”
They believe the food may have been the source of the bird flu and have thrown out around 8,000 pounds of food.
While they do believe the remaining cats will survive, they will need donations to pay for the work that needs to be done to stay open.
You can visit their website here.
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