‘I wanted some accountability’: Pet food brand owes $800K+ after Portland cat’s death
photo by: Tim Hanson
The Oregon Department of Agriculture confirmed Tim Hanson’s cat Kira tested positive for bird flu last year.
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A pet food manufacturer will pay nearly $808,000 in damages after its products led to the death of a Portland cat.
Records show a Multnomah County jury awarded Tim Hanson $7,951.51 in damages on Wednesday. Jurors also determined Wild Coast Pet Foods owes $800,000 in punitive damages. The case dates back to March 2025, when Hanson sued the pet food company following the euthanasia of his cat Kira.
photo by: Tim Hanson
Hanson adopted Kira from Second Chance Companions when she was just months old. He told KOIN 6 that she, and her brother Jen, had been eating Wild Coast for years before the Oregon Department of Agriculture confirmed Kira tested positive for bird flu after ingesting the food.
The 4-year-old animal was later euthanized following days of treatment at the DoveLewis Veterinary Hospital, according to Hanson’s complaint against Wild Coast.
The brand advertised its USDA-inspected products as healthy for cats, the lawsuit said. But Underdog Law Office attorney Michael Fuller alleged the company failed to mention that the primary ingredient in its food poses a high exposure risk for the bird flu virus when it is ingested raw.
photo by: Tim Hanson
“Defendant omitted that it sourced its raw chicken from California and Washington, states with the highest rates of confirmed bird flu outbreaks,” Fuller wrote. “Defendant omitted that cats are particularly susceptible to exposure to the H5 bird flu virus in raw chicken.”
Hanson would not have purchased Wild Coast if he knew it could expose his cat to the bird flu, according to his complaint — which sought money for the cost of Kira’s veterinary bills.
Although jurors determined the company owed several hundred thousand dollars in damages, he noted that a majority of the funds will be doled out to the state.
“The main thing is I wanted some accountability from the manufacturer, and I wanted to get the word out that I don’t want anybody’s pet to have to go through this, and I don’t want any pet owner to have to go through this stuff,” Hanson said. “That’s my main goal here.”
photos by: Tim Hanson
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