Pets make great quarantine buddies, but can they get coronavirus? Here’s what we know
A tiger at the Bronx Zoo is the first animal in the United States to test positive for the new coronavirus. Veterinarians tested the 4-year-old tiger after several lions and tigers at the New York City zoo “developed a dry cough,” officials said.
If lions and tigers can catch the virus, what about cats and dogs?
There have been several cases of house pets testing positive for COVID-19 in other countries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There’s not a lot of research on if or how COVID-19 can infect animals as the world is coming to grips with the global pandemic. “We are still learning about this virus,” the CDC said, “and it appears that it can spread from people to animals in some situations.”
There are cases of cats and dogs (and tigers) testing positive for the virus after coming in contact with a human who has the virus, but there is no evidence that shows household pets could spread COVID-19 back to people.
“Studies are underway to better understand the susceptibility of different animal species to the COVID-19 virus and to assess infection dynamics in susceptible animal species,” according to the World Organization for Animal Health. “Currently, there is no evidence to suggest that animals infected by humans are playing a role in the spread of COVID-19. Human outbreaks are driven by person to person contact.”
What we know about dogs and coronavirus
The first dog to test positive for COVID-19 was in Hong Kong in late February. Public health officials in the semi-autonomous island off China said a dog whose owner had the virus tested “weak positive” and was put in quarantine.
A second dog later tested positive for the virus, but it does not appear they ever transmitted the virus to humans, according to the American Kennel Club.
While many people are stuck at home and dogs are likely enjoying all the extra attention, public health officials say sick people should not snuggle with their pups until researchers know more about the virus.
Chinese public health officials cautioned pet owners during the outbreak: “If pets go out and have contact with an infected person, they have the chance to get infected. By then, pets need to be isolated. In addition to people, we should be careful with other mammals especially pets,” the AKC quoted.
Hong Kong public health officials tested other pets, but concluded, “These findings indicate that dogs and cats are not infected easily with this virus, and there is no evidence that they play a role in the spread of the virus,” according to the AKC.
What about cats?
Cats are probably not nearly as excited to have their humans home as dogs.
Feline coronavirus is pretty common, according to the Cleveland Clinic, but the new virus is different. Cats can catch COVID-19 from humans, the hospital said.
“While research has shown that the virus can spread from cat to cat, there’s no evidence at this time to support that the virus can become widespread among house cats or that the virus can be transmitted from cats to humans,” according to the Cleveland Clinic.
University of Illinois veterinarian Karen Terio told The New York Times that ”given the number of people in this country that have been infected with the virus and have become ill, and the number of people in this country that own domestic cats, it seems fairly improbable that cats are an important source of the virus for people if the first case we’re diagnosing it in is a tiger.”
What should pet owners do
Public health officials and animal organizations generally agree that healthy people should be taking their dogs out for walks (keeping a safe distance from others), and generally enjoying the company of their pets during this time of social distancing.
Even though there’s not much research about COVID-19 and pets, the CDC said people who get sick should be careful around animals.
People who do get sick should, if possible, find someone to take care of their pets while they recover, the CDC said.
“If you are sick with COVID-19 (either suspected or confirmed), you should restrict contact with pets and other animals, just like you would around other people. Although there have been no reports of pets becoming sick with COVID-19 in the United States, it is still recommended that people sick with COVID-19 limit contact with animals until more information is known about the virus,” the CDC said.
For people who may have virus, that means no snuggling, petting, kissing, sharing food or having too much close contact.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 11:09 AM.
