[M T]

I mentioned this before, but new info made me want this to be front & center.

 Cats and ferrets can host the SARS-COV-2 virus (dogs & other common domestic animals, not so much).
 Cats can spread & catch the virus via respiration droplets. (Related info here)

In Wuhan, for a sample of 102 cats, about 15% were found to have antibodies to the virus (meaning they had previously had the disease).
(No claim that the sample is random, so 15% does not mean that 15% of all cats would have antibodies.)


Even if you keep away from all people, does your cat keep away from infected cats & people?
I'm afraid we're going to have to convert our cats to being indoor all the time.

At present, there is no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from cats to humans. However, a latest report shows that SARS-CoV-2 can transmit between cats via respiratory droplets (Hualan Chen, 2020), so, a strong warning and regulations still should be issued to block this potential transmission route.

(Cats #1 to 15 are those that showed antibodies)

Consistent with the high neutralizing titer, the owners of Cat#4, Cat#14 and Cat#15 were diagnosed as COVID-19 patients. Cat#1, Cat#5~9 was from pet hospitals, while Cat#2, Cat#10~13[and cat #3] were initially stray cats and kept in animal protection shelters after the outbreak.

To me, this means that  cats could be a vector to bringing the virus into an otherwise-isolated household.  Cats could also be a vector for transmitting the virus from an ill person to a healthy person in the same household (no facemasks for cats!).

[M T]

I mentioned this before, but new info made me want this to be front & center.

 Cats and ferrets can host the SARS-COV-2 virus (dogs & other common domestic animals, not so much).
 Cats can spread & catch the virus via respiration droplets. (Related info here)

In Wuhan, for a sample of 102 cats, about 15% were found to have antibodies to the virus (meaning they had previously had the disease).
(No claim that the sample is random, so 15% does not mean that 15% of all cats would have antibodies.)


Even if you keep away from all people, does your cat keep away from infected cats & people?
I'm afraid we're going to have to convert our cats to being indoor all the time.

At present, there is no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from cats to humans. However, a latest report shows that SARS-CoV-2 can transmit between cats via respiratory droplets (Hualan Chen, 2020), so, a strong warning and regulations still should be issued to block this potential transmission route.

(Cats #1 to 15 are those that showed antibodies)

Consistent with the high neutralizing titer, the owners of Cat#4, Cat#14 and Cat#15 were diagnosed as COVID-19 patients. Cat#1, Cat#5~9 was from pet hospitals, while Cat#2, Cat#10~13[and cat #3] were initially stray cats and kept in animal protection shelters after the outbreak.

To me, this means that  cats could be a vector to bringing the virus into an otherwise-isolated household.  Cats could also be a vector for transmitting the virus from an ill person to a healthy person in the same household (no facemasks for cats!).