Bird flu isn’t just affecting chickens and cows; it’s hitting pet cats.

An estimated 11.6 million households in California own 23.3 million cats. A growing number of these and an unknowable population of free-roaming “community cats” have been contracting avian flu, or H5N1.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 19 out of 39 — nearly half — of non-livestock mammals in California infected over the course of the ongoing H5N1 outbreak have been domestic cats. The majority of these cats, including a stray taken in by a Half Moon Bay family and confirmed with H5N1 infection last month, have died or been euthanized.

With kitten season around the corner, this news organization herded together cat experts for advice on how to reduce the spread of bird flu among felines and the species that interact with them.

Q: Can cats spread H5N1 to people?

A: A written statement by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said there have been no reports of humans contracting bird flu from cats. But animal-to-human transmission of the virus has already been taking place. California leads the country in human H5N1 infections, mostly from infected dairy cows. Dr. Jane E. Sykes, a specialist in infectious diseases in dogs and cats at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, said, “If the virus was to change in the future, as it’s shown it can do, then it could have more serious implications for humans in terms of pandemic development.”

Q: Why are cats so susceptible to the virus?

A: Susceptibility relates to the density and location of specific viral cell receptors in the respiratory tracts and other organ systems of cats, Sykes said, and underlying characteristics of their immune systems.

Q: What about bird flu risk in dogs, and dogs close to cats?

A: For now, very few domestic dogs have been reported with bird flu infections. Sykes said that this is probably because they are less susceptible to H5N1. This does not mean that they are immune.

Q: Should cat owners worry yet?

A: According to CDPH, “Human interaction with domestic cats is more intimate and ongoing than with livestock and poultry species.” This closeness exponentially increases the potential for cat-to-human and eventually human-to-human contagion, and scientists say that testing capabilities and mRNA human vaccine research are not prepared for this.

Q: How are cats getting bird flu?

A: The majority of domesticated cats infected during this outbreak consumed raw milk or commercially marketed raw food products. The cause of infection in the Half Moon Bay stray was never determined, raising concern over feral (wild) and stray (lost, abandoned) community cats. These animals have a greater chance of exposure to other infected cats, wild birds or black rats, which joined the list of H5N1-affected animals in California at the beginning of this year.

Q: What is the incubation period for bird flu in cats?

A: Clinical signs usually appear in infected cats after a few days to a week, according to Sykes.

Q: Can cats spread bird flu while asymptomatic?

A: “There is no evidence that healthy cats can be infected with H5N1 and spread the virus without showing symptoms,” according to CDPH. But Sykes said that there are too many unknowns to be sure. “We don’t know how many cats are getting exposed and recovering without showing signs of illness. We still don’t have big studies available to understand what proportion of cats are, for example, fed raw food diets, and have antibodies to the virus,” she cautioned.

Q: Is there a vaccine for bird flu yet?

A: On Feb. 14, the Zoetis pharmaceutical company announced conditional approval from the USDA for a vaccine currently limited to poultry.

Lana a 9 year old brown tabby shorthair cat at the Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter South Shore Center on Monday, March 3, 2025, in Alameda, Calif. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)

Q: How can I prevent my pet from getting bird flu?

A: Scientists, veterinarians, public health officials and animal lovers are all urging cat owners to keep their pet cats indoors at all times if possible. “It’s just much safer and healthier for them overall,” said Dr. Katherine Mills, medical director of the Friends of the Alameda Animal Shelter (FAAS). Mills also recommended not feeding cats raw milk or raw food, even if the products are commercially packaged, frozen or freeze-dried.

Q: How do I know if my cat has avian influenza?

A: They may present upper respiratory symptoms, like sneezing, coughing or congestion and difficulty breathing, or runny discharge from the eyes, nose and mouth, plus lethargy and loss of appetite. Mills said to look out for neurological signs, such as “just mentally not seeming alert, maybe stumbling when they’re walking.” Ultimately, only testing can confirm what is ailing an animal, so it is important to bring sick cats to the vet.

Q: Do I need to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) to handle a sick cat?

A: Mills said “it would never be wrong to wear gloves plus or minus a mask to get the cat in its carrier and get to the vet.”

Q: Up until now, poultry have been “culled” — killed — if even one bird has avian influenza. Will my pet cat or a stray I bring in be summarily euthanized in the interest of public health?

A: There is no protocol for the routine euthanizing of cats with H5N1 infections, but experts say that supportive care has rarely been able to help cats with rapidly progressing symptoms of bird flu.

Q: Are free-roaming community cats a public risk?

A: The statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (IPM) at the University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources states that outdoor cats, comprising anywhere from 18-49% of the U.S. cat population, are already one of the100 worst invasive species worldwide because of their environmental impact and intractability.

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Q: If I find a cat that appears healthy, can I take it home?

A: CDPH says to avoid contact with unfamiliar animals regardless of their apparent condition. Encounters should be reported to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at (916) 358-2790, or the nearest animal control department, shelter or humane society. Mills said found cats can also have ringworm, fleas and a host of contagions other than bird flu.

Q: What are authorities doing about the emerging risk of free-roaming cats as a bird flu spreader?

A: CDPH has not issued H5N1-specific guidance for managing stray cat populations. Counties continue to manage community cats at their discretion, often in cooperation with shelters and humane societies.

By HELEN WIEFFERING, Associated Press

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Dream Count” feels like a homecoming. The Nigerian author’s first work of longform fiction in over a decade reminds us of the sharp wisdom and sturdy empathy that have made her one of the most celebrated voices in fiction.

At its face, “Dream Count” is about the emotional lives of four women living between Nigeria and Washington, D.C., each grappling with a search for purpose, stability and love. Deep into its pages, the book turns to darker questions of justice and exploitation when one character’s life is irrevocably changed.

The novel begins with the perspective of Chiamaka, or Chia, a Nigerian-born woman who has spent her adulthood and career in America. Living alone amid lockdown in the pandemic, she begins to reflect on a cast of former romances — each one part of her “dream count,” a loose tally she keeps of her efforts to find a complete, all-knowing love. Her voice and memories connect the many threads of “Dream Count” that follow.

In turns, the book shifts its focus to three other women and their dreams. There is Chia’s friend Zikora, an ambitious lawyer who is desperate to be a mother, and Chia’s brazen cousin Omelogor, a banker in Nigeria who has a crisis of confidence upon coming to America.

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The novel starts to crackle with urgency and outrage when we meet Kadiatou, Chia’s cook and housekeeper who also works as a maid in an upscale hotel. Far from the Guinean village of her youth, Kadiatou has finally found steady work and contentment in America when she is suddenly, horrifically assaulted by one of the hotel’s prominent guests.

Adichie renders the moment of her assault in quick, shuddering details. Though Kadiatou is surprised to find her bosses believe her account, she soon learns that the rest of the world wants a say, as well. Reporters and photographers stake out her apartment within hours of the assault. Her body and life history are dissected as evidence in the lead-up to an international trial.

Kadiatou’s tale isn’t born completely of imagination. Nearly 15 years ago, a New York hotel housekeeper named Nafissatou Diallo came forward to accuse the then-leader of the International Monetary Fund of sexually assaulting her when she arrived to clean his room. Adichie explains in the novel’s endnote how she was hooked and gutted by Diallo’s testimony. “Dream Count” is Adichie’s way, she writes, of dignifying her story. “Imaginative retellings matter,” she says. “Literature keeps the faith and tells the story as reminder, as witness, as testament.”

The novel’s undercurrent of politics hums louder in the aftermath of those scenes. This is, after all, a book by the same author of “We Should All Be Feminists.” We see Chia’s dream career as a travel writer hampered by American editors who would rather publish outdated stereotypes of Africans. The saucy, sharp Omelogor is willing to play in the corrupt games of powerful men to build her wealth, but feels ridiculed and dismissed in America for that same spirit.

One could question what purpose it serves for the novel to include Kadiatou’s wrenching survival story alongside the tales of well-to-do women. Though Chia and her friends root for and support Kadiatou, they’re ultimately embroiled in their own growing pains. At points, the novel’s sense of time speeds up too quickly or fails to fully develop a thread. (The character Zikora, especially, fades away from later parts of the book.)

But none of these weak points ever risks dampening the novel’s vibrant energy. “Dream Count” succeeds because every page is suffused with empathy, and because Adichie’s voice is as forthright and clarifying as ever. Reading about each woman, we begin to forget that we’re separate from these characters or that their lives belong to fiction.

By SETH BORENSTEIN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Researchers, doctors, their patients and supporters ventured out of labs, hospitals and offices Friday to stand up to what they call a blitz on life-saving science by the Trump administration.

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In the nation’s capital, a couple thousand gathered at the Stand Up for Science rally. Organizers said similar rallies were planned in more than 30 U.S. cities.

Politicians, scientists, musicians, doctors and their patients were expected to make the case that firings, budget and grant cuts in health, climate, science and other research government agencies in the Trump administration’s first 47 days in office are endangering not just the future but the present.

“Science is under attack in the United States,” said rally co-organizer Colette Delawalla, a doctoral student in clinical psychology. “We’re not just going to stand here and take it.”

“American scientific progress and forward movement is a public good and public good is coming to a screeching halt right now,” Delawalla said.

Health and science advances are happening faster than ever, said former National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins, who helped map the human genome. The funding cuts put at risk progress on Alzheimer’s Disease, diabetes and cancer, he said.

“It’s a very bad time with all the promise and momentum,” said Collins.

“I’m very worried about my country right now,” Collins said before breaking out into an original song on his guitar.

Emily Whitehead, the first patient to get a certain new type of treatment for a rare cancer, told the crowd that at age 5 she was sent hospice to die, but CAR T-cell therapy “taught my immune system to beat cancer” and she’s been disease free for nearly 13 years.

“I stand up for science because science saved my life,” Whitehead said.

Friday’s rally in Washington was at the Lincoln Memorial, in the shadow of a statue of the president who created the National Academy of Sciences in 1863. Some of the expected speakers study giant colliding galaxies, the tiny genetic blueprint of life inside humans and the warming atmosphere.

“We’re looking at the most aggressively anti-science government the United States has ever had,” astronomer Phil Plait told the booing crowd that carried signs that were decidedly nerdy and attacking President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Signs included “Edit Elon out of USA’s DNA,” “In evidence we trust,” “science is the vaccine for ignorance” and “ticked off epidemiologist.”

Nobel Prize winning biologist Victor Ambros, Bill Nye The Science Guy, former NASA chief Bill Nelson and a host of other politicians, and patients — some with rare diseases — were scheduled to take the stage to talk about their work and the importance of scientific research.

From 7 million miles away from Earth, NASA proved science could divert potentially planet-killing asteroids, Nelson said. On his space shuttle flight nearly 40 years ago, he looked down to Earth and had a “sense of awe that you want to be a better steward of what we’ve been given,” he said.

The rallies were organized mostly by graduate students and early career scientists. Dozens of other protests were also planned around the world, including more than 30 in France, Delawalla said.

“The cuts in science funding affects the world,” she said.

Protestors gathered around City Hall in Philadelphia, home to prestigious, internationally-recognized health care institutions and where 1 in 6 doctors in the U.S. has received medical training.

“As a doctor, I’m standing up for all of my transgender, nonbinary patients who are also being targeted,” said Cedric Bien-Gund, an infectious disease doctor at the University of Pennsylvania. “There’s been a lot of fear and silencing, both among our patients and among all our staff. And it’s really disheartening to see.”

Isabella O’Malley contributed from Philadelphia.

Follow Seth Borenstein on X at @borenbears

Read more of AP’s climate coverage at http://www.apnews.com/climate-and-environment

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

By JAKE COYLE, Associated Press

In Carson Lund’s “Eephus,” two teams – the Riverdogs and Adler’s Paint – gather on a neighborhood field for a baseball game. The leaves are already starting to turn — “It’s getting late early,” as Yogi Berra said — and this is to be the final game for their adult rec league. The field is to be demolished.

No one would confuse them for all-stars. A suicide squeeze unfolds in creaky slow-motion. The rotund left fielder mutters “Mother McCree” under his breath when the ball is hit in the gap. But, regardless of skill level, they all care sincerely about the game.

This image released by Music Box Films shows, from left, Patrick Garrigan, Chris Goodwin, Peter Minkarah, Stephen Radochia, Ari Brisbon, Ray Hryb, and David Pridemore in a scene from “Eephus.” (Music Box Films via AP)

“Eephus,” as leisurely as a late-August double header, simply unfolds along with their game. Except to chase a foul ball or two, the movie stays within the lines of Soldier Field, the nondescript Massachusetts baseball field they’re playing on sometime in the 1990s. It spans nine innings, with dugout chatter and fading light. In this slow-pitch gem of a baseball movie — a middle-aged “Sandlot” — time is slipping away, but they’re going down swinging.

Money, analytics and whatever’s on ESPN can sometimes cloud what sports is to most people: A refuge. “Eephus,” in that way, is a change-up of a baseball movie, an elegiac ode to the humbler weekend warriors who are driven by nothing but genuine affection for the game. Richly detailed and mordantly deadpan, “Eephus” adopts their pace of play, soaking up all the sesame-seed flavor that goes along with it.

This image released by Music Box Films shows Cliff Blake in a scene from “Eephus.” (Music Box Films via AP)

The title comes from an unnaturally slow pitch not slung but lobbed toward home. When I was a kid pitching, I liked to uncork one from time to time, much to my coach’s dismay. The metaphor isn’t hard to grasp. One player describes it as a pitch you can get bored watching, even making you lose track of time.

Much of the same applies to “Eephus,” which drifts player to player, play to play, less as an ensemble piece than like a roving spectator. The guys, themselves, have no more than a handful of fans, including the diehard scorekeeper Fanny (Cliff Blake). Frederick Wiseman, the great documentarian whose films chronicle nothing so much as institutions kept alive over time, is the voice of the announcer.

This image released by Music Box Films shows, from left, Keith Poulson, Ari Brisbon, David Pridemore, and Chris Goodwin in a scene from “Eephus.” (Music Box Films via AP)

I earlier called Lund’s film an ode, but it’s not a sentimental movie. Time’s passage, which no ballgame or perfectly thrown eephus can halt, grows increasingly disquieting as the afternoon light gives way to nightfall. That, to finish the game, they play into near-total darkness, with only headlights to see the ball, is a sign of desperation as much as it is commitment. After all, one guy in the dugout is listening to a radio broadcast of a ballgame, from 1972.

What’s being lost? It’s not a strip mall the field is to be turned into but something harder to quibble with: a school. They could drive half an hour to another field, but that’s said to be half Little League, half farmer’s market. They aren’t a collection of pals, either. They don’t hang out away from the diamond. Things they don’t talk about: work, families, politics. Things they do: eyecare for the ump.

This image released by Music Box Films shows Keith William Richards, left, and Jack DiFonso “Eephus.” (Music Box Films via AP)

In the annals of baseball movies, “Eephus” doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame with “Bull Durham” or “A League of Their Own.” The closest it gets to the big leagues is an appearance by Bill “Spaceman” Lee, the 1970s southpaw and eephus adherent.

But “Eephus” is just as deserving of a place in that hardball pantheon, only in some minor ball realm, well below single A. Here, they don’t throw “high cheese” but such meatballs that, as one player riffs, you could call it pasta primavera. To call this a field of dreams would be pushing it. But it’s a lovely way to pass some time.

“Eephus,” a Music Box release is not rated by the Motion Picture Association but contains coarse language. Running time: 98 minutes. Three stars out of four.