Corona, COVID 19 and Cats

2.5.2020

Currently there has been some media coverage on the subject of cats and the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that is causing confusion among cat owners around the world. First the good news: There is absolutely no reason to worry about your housecats. There is currently NO evidence that cats (both domestic cats and other felines) can transfer the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) to humans. In the coming weeks, the focus of our reporting will be on conveying the facts of the subject as they are currently known by compiling information from reliable and trustworthy sources and commented on by experts in the hope of deflating the sensationalism in the tabloid press.

Can our pets become infected with the corona virus?

[i] There is no evidence that animals play a role in the transmission of COVID-19 to people other than the initial event in the Wuhan market, and no evidence that any person has been infected with COVID-19 in the US by animals, including by pet dogs or cats.[i]

Lions and tigers at the Bronx Zoo test positive for SARS-CoV-2

Yesterday the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which manages the Bronx Zoo, announced that a four-year-old Malayan tiger (Panthera tigris jacksoni) named Nadia is positive for the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) after being tested by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories. However, the test kit used was not the same kind that is used for humans.

Cat in France tested positive

The french capital Paris has been badly hit by the Corona pandemic and is one of the Corona hot spots in Europe. A house cat in Paris tested positive according to the French National Veterinary School in Alfort ENVA), situated outside of Paris.The cat had been living with a Covid-19 patient and showed breathing and digestive problems. The National Veterinary School had tested nine cats altogether and only one test result came back positive. The Veterinary school stressed -as all veterinary facílties and experts world-wide- that even though there have been a handful of cases of pets showing light symptoms that Sars-Cov-2 is transmitted from human-to-human and that pets DO NOT pose a threat to human health.