Cats in two separate households died in May after developing severe illnesses that were confirmed as the Type A H5N1 bird virus found in U.S. dairy herds, investigators reported. Both were indoor-only cats that had no exposure to infected cattle or birds and didn’t consume raw milk.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is trying to reverse the firing of some employees who were involved in responding to the nation’s growing bird flu outbreak, officials said this week.

Federal agriculture workers laid off in "Valentine's Day Massacre" deny they were part of a bloated bureaucracy.