By Terri Nighswonger
Two cats in Brazos County, Texas, have tested positive for COVID-19. The cats were swabbed as part of a study being conducted at Texas A&M University to understand how pets living in high-risk households might be impacted.
The cats were in separate homes and asymptomatic. The team has been testing dogs and cats that lived in homes where at least one person was affected by COVID-19. The study, which began in June, found there is a chance for pets to become infected in COVID-19-positive homes. Pet owners should be cautious if they become infected.
The study was not designed to test whether pets become infected from owners or vice versa. There was also no correlation that pets contribute to the spread of the disease.
When a pet is found to be positive, researchers said, they will work with the owners to make sure the pet is staying home and is not interacting with other pets. It should be isolated in much the same way as humans.
In July, a dog in Fort Worth tested positive for the virus after its owners had the virus. In April, federal officials confirmed that two cats in different parts of New York had tested positive for the virus. They had mild respiratory illnesses.
How did they get the cat to sit still for that swab to be shoved up its nose all the way to its brain (well, almost)?
Wonder how they shoved the swab down the cats nose? Was a rather unpleasant experience for me.
Having been a breeder of pedigree cats for over 20 yrs. before I “retired” and going over to volunteer for the equivalence of the SPCA in Scandinavia for another 20+ yrs, I’ve dealt with Corona viruses more times than I can remember and have yet to loose a sweet feline to the illness. It IS av very common ailment within the feline population and there is NO vaccine for it… (should give you a clue as to the functionablility of a human Corona/Covid vaccine, especially since we in the “cat business” have been begging the pharmaceutical companies for YEARS to create a vaccine for our cats…)
Regardless, when it comes to Corona in cats, most of the time, it’s similar to as if you have a cold. It can be just the sniffles, no symptoms at all or a fight. Most of the time, it will blow over on it’s own, other times you might need to give your feline a 10 day regiment of antibiotics. Most important, is to keep a watchful eye on your cat, make sure it’s comfortable and keep it hydrated…