There’s new evidence that cats can become infected with Coronavirus, but preliminary studies show they do not get sick with the disease, nor are they likely pass it on to people.
A study out of China, suggests cats and ferrets can catch Coronavirus, but dogs, chickens, pigs and ducks likely do not. The findings have not yet been peer reviewed.
“There have been studies that have come out, that have shown that cats from households where the owner has Coronavirus, have had an antibody response to it.”
Tanya LeRoith is clinical professor of anatomic pathology at the Virginia Tech Animal Diagnostic Lab.
She says, “There was another study that came out, where they inoculated cats in the nose with high doses of coronavirus and it was shown that the cats do contract the disease. But there's no evidence currently that cats are a source of transmission for their owners.”
In fact, she says, it’s the other way around, cats are being infected by their owners. This week we learned that tigers in the Bronx Zoo tested positive for the virus. Some had a dry cough but according to news reports the big cats are recovering. The source was traced back to a Zookeeper who has the disease.
At this point, it appears animals who contract Coronavirus don't suffer the same life threatening conditions that can arise in humans. However testing on animals is preliminary and involves a different test than those given to people.
The Centers for Disease Control recommend people keep away from all pets if they have the disease, ask someone else to take care of them, or practice the same handwashing protocol you would with any member of the family.
