[akiddoc]

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!).

Saw that in some medical chat rooms the last few days. Will be interesting to see what the method of transmission is between cats and if there is likely spread to humans. These reports are preliminary and not in peer reviewed studies.

[akiddoc]

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!).

Saw that in some medical chat rooms the last few days. Will be interesting to see what the method of transmission is between cats and if there is likely spread to humans. These reports are preliminary and not in peer reviewed studies.