LEBANON — One of the cats of Rhonda and David Rebmann of Lebanon may have been the first in the nation to die from the H1N1 virus.

Two other cases of the virus appearing in cats have been confirmed: One in Utah and the other in Iowa, but they survived.

The Rebmann’s 10-year-old, neutered male, Buddy Lou, died Nov. 7 after contracting the virus, possibly from an 18-year-old niece living in the Rebmann household, said the cat’s veterinarian, Dr. Steven Hiett of the Animal Clinic in Lebanon. The niece came down with the flu on Oct. 25.

“Buddy’s symptoms came on quickly, and it was just terrible,” Rhonda Rebmann said this morning. “We have four other cats: Two got severe upper respiratory infections, but not as severe as Buddy’s. A third cat started sneezing and it was treated, and the fourth cat never had any symptoms at all.”

The Rebmanns had adopted Buddy Lou after renters left him behind. He is buried under a tree on the Rebmanns’ property.

Hiett said the previously healthy, 12-pound cat came into the clinic on Nov. 4 with “shallow, rapid and labored breathing” and he was refusing food. Buddy Lou’s temperature was in the normal range.

After an examination and a lung X-ray, it appeared the cat had viral pneumonia, Hiett said.

“We put the cat on antibiotics, but he didn’t respond, even with oxygen,” he said. “When he didn’t respond, we knew something different was going on.”

After the cat died, Hiett sent nasal secretions and a section of lung to the Oregon State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at OSU for analysis. The lab determined the cat had H1N1.

Because it is so unusual for a cat to contract H1N1, the lab did not charge for the tests.

Hiett will submit other specimens to Dr. Emilio DeBess, the state’s public health veterinarian, for further study.

“We’re trying to get a better understanding of how a virus is transmitted between species,” Hiett said.

“I wouldn’t think about testing an animal for H1N1 unless there are some signs of labored breathing and maybe changes in the lungs,” Hiett said.

Other symptoms that could indicate the H1N1 virus include coughing, lethargy or swelling and redness of the membranes around the eyes. To protect animals from infection, the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association recommends people with flu-like symptoms wash their hands, use alcohol-based hand cleaners, cover their mouths and nose with tissue when sneezing, and avoid touching a pet’s eyes, nose and mouth.