Can your pet get sick from COVID-19?
It is said that cats can actually be infected with COVID-19 and they can also spread the virus to other cats, but there is no evidence that dogs can get this type of virus. That being said, cat owners should not be alarmed yet, because this virus is new and the researchers do not have much information yet, and of course, the effects of the infection are ongoing. Moreover, according to the virologist at the Ohio State University in Wooster, Linda Saif, there is no evidence that cats can secrete enough coronavirus to pass it to humans.
In addition, three cases of coronavirus-confirmed animals were found, namely one cat in Belgium and two dogs in Hong Kong, but they did not show any symptoms. However, it is true that more tests and research is needed.
According to Dr. Dorrie Black of the San Francisco veterinary clinic Animal Internal Medicine and Specialty Services, “at this time, I feel relatively strongly that pets cannot come down with a disease associated with COVID-19. Coronaviruses do exist in pets: We have common coronaviruses in cats and dogs that cause respiratory as well as intestinal changes. They are not novel to them, so they have adapted to them, and they are not typically lethal at all. They are usually transient processes.”
“As far as we know, pets do not get the disease caused by the virus. People notice when their pets are sick. With the burden of human cases that we have, I think sick pets would start getting reported,” said Dr. Brian H. Bird, associate director of the UC Davis One Health Institute.
In other words, if you have a pet, you will surely know if it is sick or not, but even if – by absurdity – your beloved furry friend will be infected with COVID-19 (or not), it won’t die of pneumonia or other gastrointestinal diseases. So, do not worry about that.
Moreover, you should know that the way coronavirus is manifested in animals is still under investigation and animal specialists are trying to find out if there are other affected creatures besides dogs and cats.
