Coronavirus in The United States: Two Infected Cats, What Were Their Symptoms?
The American health authorities warn of the transmission of the virus to cats. We already knew that several cats from a Bronx zoo in New York had been infected: Three lions and five tigers, and one of them had no symptoms.
In one case, no humans in the household tested positive. In the other case, the cat master had previously tested positive for the virus. There is no certainty, but veterinary experts believe rather that the transmission was made from human to the cat, and according to them, it is unlikely that it is done from cat to human.
Dr. Faucci, the doctor who is on the front line in the United States, said earlier in the daily press briefing to the White House that at this stage, there is nothing to indicate that the virus can be transmitted from an animal to a human. And so, animals do not participate in the spread of the virus, at the stage of our knowledge. The association of American veterinarians evokes two previous cases, a cat contaminated in Hong Kong, without symptoms, and also the case of a sick cat in Belgium who escaped.a
What Are The Symptoms Of Animals?
Symptoms of COVID-19 for animals are the same as for humans. If your pet has some sort of cough, hoarse meowing, sneezing, runny nose, these are clues. And so the CDC, the federal health agency, recommends that owners respect the same principles of social distancing for animals. Keep your cats at home to prevent them from meeting other humans than your family.
But the recommendations also extend to dogs, even if there is no case detected yet. The health authorities recommend: when you go for a walk, don’t let it be caressed by other people. Keep it on a leash, avoid parks and places too crowded with humans. And then if you are sick, or if you have symptoms, stay away from your pet as much as possible.
A Maine laboratory has just developed a specific test for animals that will be distributed by the end of the week here.