The first of hundreds of cats quarantined by the city amid a bird flu outbreak were sprung from their cages on Saturday, sources told The Post.
An undisclosed number of detained kitties were carted out of the Animal Care Centers facility in Long Island City after getting clean bills of health, according to the shelter sources.
The cats were being taken to the city’s other ACC-run shelters and then to foster homes. A few of the luckiest kitties were already shelter adoptees, and would be headed straight home, the sources added.
The rare strain of bird flu swept through Big Apple animal shelters in the past three months, leading ACC to lock up some 500 felines in lockdown.
Almost 400 have already tested positive for the H7N7 virus — the first time cats have been stricken by this strain of flu, officials said.
The virus remains contagious for up to three weeks, can cause malaise and runny noses, and can be fatal in the very young or very old.
Only two of the stricken have so far died, including the original host, a shelter kitten named Alfred, dubbed “Patient Zero,” who first fell ill in October.
The virus is not believed to be transmittable to humans.
