It follows the discovery of a cat in Germany that was found to have been killed by the H5N1 avian influenza virus. "There is no present evidence that domestic cats play a role in the transmission cycle of H5N1 viruses," the WHO said in statement.
"Unlike the case in domestic and wild birds, there is no evidence that domestic cats are a reservoir of the virus," the statement read.
However the discovery sparked concern in Germany, and prompted a government order for cat owners in the region to keep their pets locked up at home.
The WHO’s bird flu spokesman, Dick Thompson attempted to allay concerns surrounding the threat. "You have to put this in perspective: there have been 180 million birds that have been killed because of this disease and yet we've identified fewer than 200 human cases,” he said.
"So the risk from direct exposure to any animal, and we know that these animals are infected, is vanishingly small," Mr Thompson said.
The biggest fear
A series of tests conducted two years ago had shown that cats could be infected with H5N1, mainly from eating infected raw chicken or direct inoculation, and pass it on to other cats.
The greatest concern for health experts around the world is that the deadly H5N1 strain will mutate with human forms of influenza into a form that would be easily transmitted between humans. The current form of the virus only permits bird to human infection.
The dead cat found on the Baltic Sea island of Ruegen, known to have a large bird population, is the first known case of a mammal in Europe to be infected with the H5N1 strain of the virus.
Veterinary bodies on alert
Meanwhile, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) in Paris, noted that in 2004 more than 40 tigers died at a zoo in Bangkok after being fed H5N1-infected chickens.
The OIE, which monitors the veterinary side of bird flu, said that there had also been cases of infection among domestic cats in Asia.
But it stressed, "as of today, all the natural cases in felines have not led to any change in the epidemiology of the disease that has fundamentally remained a bird disease.
"Nor have they led to any recognised virus change in epidemiology or mutation leading to an increased virulence of the virus for felines or other mammals."