Cat Dies From Swine Flu

(Lebanon, Oregon) A local cat died of swine flu. It was the first in the nation.

On Nov. 4, a 10-year-old male cat was brought to the Animal Clinic in Lebanon with rapid, shallow breathing. The cat's temperature was 101.7 degrees, but it was not coughing or sneezing. X-ray results were consistent with pneumonia.

The next day, the cat's symptoms got worse. It died on Nov. 7, the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association announced today.

The Oregon State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory found that the cat carried the H1N1 virus.

While this is the third confirmed case of a cat with H1N1, it is the first feline fatality nationwide. The other two cats with swine flu -- one in Iowa, one in Utah -- recovered.

The cat is believed to have acquired the H1N1 virus from a human and not any of the other three cats living in the same house.