EU veterinary experts have advised pet owners to keep cats indoors and dogs on leashes in areas hit by outbreaks of deadly bird flu virus.

The recommendation comes after German authorities found earlier this week a dead cat on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen that had carried the highly pathogenic form of H5N1 which can kill humans.

"Contacts between domestic carnivores, particularly cats, and wild birds should be prevented," a committee of EU food chain and health experts said in a statement late Wednesday.

"Cats should be kept indoors and dogs should be kept on a leash or otherwise restrained, and kept under control by the owner."

It warned that the possibility of dogs catching the H5N1 could not be ruled out.

The experts also recommended that if stray cats or dogs are found dead that they should be reported to veterinary authorities.

The World Health Organization said Wednesday the threat to people from H5N1 bird flu was unknown but appeared small after the virus infected the German cat, heightening fears of a future human pandemic.

The cat in Germany was the first mammal in Europe known to be infected with H5N1. Other felines including tigers, leopards and domestic cats have caught the disease in Asia.