Content
- What is COVID-19?
- Cats and the Coronavirus - Cases of Contagion
- Can cats infect humans with Covid-19? - Studies performed
- Coronavirus contagion among animals
- Feline coronavirus, unlike the virus that causes Covid-19
The pandemic caused by the new coronavirus, which is of animal origin, aroused a multitude of doubts in all people who enjoy the company of a cat and other pets in their homes. Do animals transmit Covid-19? Does a cat get coronavirus? Dog transmits coronavirus? These questions have increased due to news of contagions from domestic cats and felines housed in zoos in different countries.
Always relying on scientific evidence available so far, in this PeritoAnimal article, we will explain the relationship of cats and the coronavirus what if cats can have coronaviruses or not, and if they can transmit it to people. Good reading.
What is COVID-19?
Before determining whether the cat catches coronavirus, let's briefly discuss some basics about this new virus. Specifically, your name is SARS-CoV-2, and the virus causes a disease called Covid-19. It is a virus belonging to a well-known family of these pathogens, the coronaviruses, capable of affecting several species, such as pigs, cats, dogs and also humans.
This new virus is similar to the one present in bats and is thought to have affected humans through one or more intermediate animals. The first case was diagnosed in China in December 2019. Since then, the virus has spread rapidly among people around the world, presenting itself asymptomatically, causing mild respiratory symptoms or, in a smaller percentage of cases, but no less worrying, severe respiratory problems that some patients are unable to overcome.
Cats and the Coronavirus - Cases of Contagion
Covid-19 disease can be considered a zoonosis, which means it was transmitted from animals to humans. In this sense, a series of doubts arose: do animals transmit Covid-19? Cat gets coronavirus? Cat transmits Covid-19? These are the most common related to cats and the coronavirus that we receive in PeritoAnimal.
In this context, the role of cats gained importance and it was often questioned whether cats could contract the coronavirus or not. This is due to the fact that some news reporting the discovery of sick cats. The first case of a cat with coronavirus was in Belgium, which not only tested positive for the new coronavirus in its feces, but also suffered respiratory and digestive symptoms. In addition, other supposedly positive felines, tigers and lions have been reported in a New York zoo, but only one tigress has been tested. In this case, some of them had respiratory signs of the disease.
In Brazil, the first case of a cat with coronavirus (infected by the Sars-CoV-2 virus) was disclosed in early October 2020 in Cuiabá, Mato Grosso. The feline contracted the virus from its guardians, a couple and a child who were infected. However, the animal did not show symptoms of the disease.[1]
Until February 2021, only three states had registered notifications of contagion from pets in Brazil: in addition to Mato Grosso, Paraná and Pernambuco, according to a report by CNN Brasil.[3]
According to the Food and Drug Control Agency and the US Centers for Disease Control (FDA and CDC, respectively), ideally, during the pandemic in which we live, let's avoid exposing our furry companions to other people who don't live in your house so that they don't run any kind of risk either.
Reports of contagion of the new coronavirus among animals are considered extremely low so far. And in this other PeritoAnimal article you will see which dog can detect the coronavirus.
Can cats infect humans with Covid-19? - Studies performed
No. All studies released so far claim that there is no evidence that cats play a significant role in the transmission of the virus that causes Covid-19. A large study published in early November 2020 confirmed that dogs and cats could indeed be infected with the Sars-CoV-2 type coronavirus, but that they could not infect humans.[2]
According to veterinarian Hélio Autran de Morais, who is a professor in the Department of Sciences and director of the veterinary hospital at the University of Oregon in the United States and led the largest scientific review ever done on the subject, animals can become reservoirs of the virus, but not infect people.
Also according to the scientific review, which was published in the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science, there are cases of hamsters and minks that were also infected and that the reproduction of the virus in dogs and cats is very small.
Coronavirus contagion among animals
Other studies have already been pointing out that cats can contract the coronavirus and even infect other healthy cats. In that same study, ferrets find themselves in the same situation. On the other hand, in dogs, the susceptibility is much more limited and other animals, such as pigs, chickens and ducks, are not at all susceptible.
But no panic. What health authorities say from the data collected so far is that cats have no relevance to Covid-19. Currently, there is no evidence that pets transmit the disease to humans.
Still, it is recommended that people who are positive for the coronavirus leave their cats in the care of family and friends or, if not possible, maintain the recommended hygiene guidelines to avoid infecting the feline.
Feline coronavirus, unlike the virus that causes Covid-19
It's true that cats can have coronavirus, but of other types. So it is possible to hear about these viruses in the veterinary context. They do not refer to SARS-CoV-2 or Covid-19.
For decades, it has been known that a type of coronavirus, which is widespread in cats, causes digestive symptoms, and that it is generally not serious. However, in some individuals, this virus mutates and is capable of triggering a very serious and deadly disease known as FIP, or feline infectious peritonitis. In any case, none of these feline coronaviruses are related to Covid-19.
Now that you know that cats get coronaviruses, but there is no evidence that they can infect a person with the virus, you might be interested in reading this other article about the most common diseases in cats.
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Coronaviruses and Cats - What We Know About Covid-19, we recommend that you enter our section on Viral diseases.