My coworker isn’t social distancing. In fact, she’s more touchy than ever. She always wants to cuddle or play when I’m in the middle of writing an article. She yells for the window to be open and cries when I don’t share my food. Sound strange? Well, all of that makes sense when you find out that my coworker…is my cat. And right now, we’re both trying to stay safe from COVID-19.
That’s right: cats cannot only contract COVID-19, but they can also spread it to other cats. But can you catch the virus from your fuzzy friends?
COVID-19: An Overview
The earliest traces of COVID-19 trace back to November or December 2019. But it was not declared a pandemic until March 2020. COVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2, a virus. It causes fever, body aches, loss of smell and taste, blood clots, and an inflammatory-type condition in children. However, COVID-19 sometimes prompts a severe and deadly respiratory and immune response. Out of the 5.54 million diagnosed cases worldwide, there have been 347,836 fatalities.
The medical world took a fairly immediate deep-dive into COVID-19 research. Now, as the race for a vaccine continues, knowledge on the virus continues to grow.
Coronavirus and the Animal Kingdom
In February, a Pomerian in Hong Kong tested positive for COVID-19. Then, 8 big cats at a New York zoo tested positive in early April. By late April, 2 house cats tested positive for the virus after showing signs of respiratory distress.
So, researchers looked to understand how and when cats could shed the virus, as well as what symptoms they show.
The Study
Their study in the New England Journal of Medicine followed a group of six cats: three without COVID-19, and three infected by the researchers. After each cat was infected, it was placed in a cage with a non-infected cat.
Before one week was up, all six cats had COVID-19. However, the virus did not spread far. Uninfected cats were also placed one foot away from these cages; none of these cats contracted the virus.
All 6 infected cats were asymptomatic. But testing shows that 30,000-50,000 virus particles appeared on each nasal swab over a period of 6 days. Thus, asymptomatic viral shedding in cats was most present over a 1-week time period. Although one of the researchers notes that:
“there is the possibility that these cats are shedding [the virus] and fomites [(infectious objects)] are being released [into] a person’s household or cat shelters.”
He also admits that there is no clear path to understanding actual infection risk. Ethically, researchers cannot conduct a clinical trial to determine whether cats can infect humans with COVID-19 and at what rate.
COVID-19 Advice
Because of this, it is unclear whether humans can contract COVID-19 from cats. However, researchers offer some advice to cat owners:
- Don’t let sick individuals mingle with cats. If someone in the household is sick and suspects COVID-19, that individual should be quarantined from other humans and from pets.
- Do not abandon your cats. Even though animals can contract COVID-19, people should try not to worry too much. Don’t abandon your pets or send them to over-filled shelters over panic. Those are still your pets; show them some love.
- Keep your cats indoors. Even if your cat loves to go outside, keep them inside over the coming months. Even if your risk of contracting the virus from your cat is low, they still can contract it from each other.
