Yes, It’s True: Your Cat Can Catch Covid-19 From You
August 2, 2020
At the beginning of the pandemic, we talked about the possibility of catching the coronavirus from your cat. But now there’s evidence to prove that it’s more likely your cat will contract the virus from you.
In the news earlier this week, we saw that a cat living in the UK was the first to test positive for the virus after being infected by his two contagious caregivers. A blood sample sent to the Animal and Plant Health Agency laboratory in Weybridge, UK confirmed the case.
Although the probability of this happening to you and your cats is extremely low, we should take this news as a warning and treat our pets with the same precautionary measures as we would with humans when self-isolating.
UK’s Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss reported to Public Health that “this is a very rare event with infected animals detected to date only showing mild clinical signs and recovering within a few days.”
In effect, if you have tested positive for the coronavirus, your cat needs to be quarantined in his or her own space and kept indoors and away from people and other cats for two weeks. And as always, wash your hands after handling your pets.
Although scientists are not quite sure yet how this interspecies transmission happens, they continue to study the virus to better understand the risks involved.
Further research was conducted on the UK feline at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research:
“The investigation into this case suggests that the infection was spread from humans to animals, and not the other way round. At this time, there is no evidence that pets can transmit the disease to humans.”
The good news is that the UK cat only experienced mild respiratory symptoms and has made a full recovery, along with his owners. According to Middlemiss, “There was no transmission of the virus to other animals or people in the household."
Earlier in the pandemic in the United States, two domestic cats from different neighbourhoods in New York (the State worst hit by Covid-19) tested positive for the virus. In one case, the cat’s owners also tested positive for the coronavirus, while the second cat’s parents did not. This evidence suggests that the second NY cat either contracted the disease from another infected cat in the neighbourhood, or that she came into contact with someone else with the virus.
In both cases, the cats made a quick recovery. However, in light of this information, pet owners are advised to keep pets at home and practice physical distancing with other people and pets when outside or in public spaces.
As yet there are no plans offering pet owners tests for Covid-19. For more information on living and working with animals and animal welfare during the pandemic, visit the UK government website for Public Health.