Keeping Your Pets Healthy and Happy
At All The Best, your pets’ wellness is what we care about most. For over 40 years, we’ve been helping cats and dogs live their best lives through better nutrition. We were the first in the area to offer raw pet food, and we continue to see the incredible benefits of a less-processed, biologically appropriate diet time and time again.
What’s Going On with Avian Flu?
You may have heard about avian flu (also called HPAI—highly pathogenic avian influenza) making the rounds again. It’s been around for decades and usually affects birds in the colder months, but this current strain has taken a turn. Here’s the scoop:
- Cats are at risk: Cats can get this strain if they’re exposed to infected birds or contaminated food.
- Dogs? Not so much: There have been zero cases of dogs getting avian flu in the U.S. so far.
- Food supply safety: The USDA is on it, with strict rules to keep avian flu out of meat and poultry products.
We’re keeping a close eye on things and will always share what we know to keep your pets safe.
Why We Trust the Foods We Carry
We’re confident in the quality of the foods we sell. While there’s always some risk with any food, the raw options we carry have an incredibly low chance of contamination—and it’s even lower in the cooked foods we offer. We’re still all-in on the benefits of raw diets. Of course, if you ever have concerns, we’ve got your back with our product guarantee.
How Our Raw Food Partners Keep Their Foods Safe
All The Best maintains close relationships with our raw food partners and trusts that they are doing all they can to provide foods that are safe and healthy for our pets. Because we exclusively carry only top-quality foods, all of our raw food partners implement several or all of the following points of safety:
- They use human-grade ingredients and USDA-inspected facilities.
- They trace ingredients from start to finish.
- They follow optimal manufacturing practices, including hazard analysis and critical control point (HACCP) plans, Safe Quality Food (SQF) certification, and/or full-time USDA staff on-site.
- Many use high-pressure processing (HPP), (HPP), which has been shown to kill a variety of pathogenic bacteria and viruses, including previous strains of avian flu.
- They conduct batch testing for pathogens (currently bacterial and fungal, though we anticipate large-scale testing for avian flu to be available and utilized soon).
We’re Here to Help You Choose the Best Food
Not sure about raw food? That’s okay! Raw diets aren’t the only way to keep your pets healthy. If you’re thinking about trying something different, stop by any All The Best Pet Care location, and we’ll help you find a great alternative.
As we learn more, we’ll keep updating our webpage so you can stay in the loop.
FAQs
- Is raw food safe to feed?
No food is risk-free, but the raw options we carry are extremely safe, with very low chances of transmitting avian flu. We trust the brands we offer because we feed them to our own pets, too!
- Can dogs get avian flu?
Right now, the risk to dogs is very low. There haven’t been any cases of dogs in the U.S. getting avian flu.
- What’s being done to keep raw food safe?
The USDA and other agencies enforce strict rules, like testing poultry and beef before slaughter. Our raw food partners add even more safeguards, like pathogen testing and strict manufacturing protocols.
- Does cooking kill avian flu?
Yes! Cooking food to 165°F kills the virus. That includes canned, air-dried, freeze-dried, and kibble foods.
- What else can I do?
The biggest risk for cats is contact with wild birds. Keeping your cat indoors and away from birds and their droppings is the best way to protect them.
- What’s the FDA saying about raw pet food?
The FDA suggests avoiding raw food from farms affected by avian flu. None of the raw brands we carry use ingredients from those farms.
Have more questions? Drop by and chat with one of our pet care specialists. We’re here to help your pets stay happy, healthy, and safe!
Statements from our raw food brands
The Northwest Naturals Recall
On December 24, 2024, Northwest Naturals voluntarily recalled two lots of their raw frozen turkey cat food after a cat sadly got sick and passed away from avian flu. The opened food bag tested positive for the virus, but it has not been detected in any sealed bags.
We don’t carry this recalled product. We do sell other Northwest Naturals raw and freeze-dried foods, but none of these are part of the recall. Northwest Naturals takes safety seriously, producing food in USDA-supervised facilities, and they remain a trusted partner of ours.
So far, this is the only case of avian flu tied to any commercially prepared raw food made with good practices.
Read more about the FDA’s recommendations: FDA Outlines Ways to Reduce Risk of HPAI in Cats
This page was updated 1/27/25