The U.S. has reported the first outbreak of the deadly H7N9 bird flu on a poultry farm since 2017, as the country continues to grapple with another strain that has infected humans and caused egg prices to hit record highs.

More than 12,000 individual birds have tested positive since the virus began spreading, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.

Health authorities say the threat of infection for people remained low even amid the spread of H5N1 virus among birds and cattle nationally.

In prior bird flu outbreaks, there’ve been several documented cases of feline-to-feline spread, but ingestion seems to be the primary route of exposure for pets in the current outbreak, says Coleman. If an outdoor cat catches an infected bird or rodent, that can make them sick.