I wrote an article a few weeks back in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic on our pets and coronavirus. (You can check it out HERE if interested.) As the virus has spread globally we know a lot more people have been asking should they be worried about their pets catching or transmitting coronavirus. The information is ever changing on this so we thought it was time we wrote an update.
If you want the long story short: There is still no reason to worry about your pets catching corona virus!
What’s the latest news?
- You may all have read a few weeks ago about Nadia the Tiger from the Bronx Zoo catching coronavirus. 6 big cats got infected in total. They showed mild symptoms including a dry cough. It is believed an asymtomtic zoo keeper passed it to the big cats.
- 2 pet cats were infected in New York in April. They were the first reported cases of pets becoming infected in the US. The cats suffered mild respiratory signs.
- Winston a pug in the US caught corona virus. He had very mild symptoms.
- 2 dogs and 1 cat tested positive in Hong Kong
How does the situation look globally?
We now have 3.25 million confirmed cases of coronavirus globally. 1.01 million of those cases have fully recovered and sadly 231,000 people have died.Looking at the exponential growth of confirmed cases in humans against the confirmed cases in pets, there really is no reason worry.Dr Jane Sykes is the Chief Veterinary Medical Officer of the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. She recently said “It’s probably likely that dogs and cats are what we call ‘dead-end’ hosts. They don’t continue to transmit onwards, but we don’t know for sure at this point in time.”
What advice is there for people with pets?
The advice is largely unchanged, the key points to remember are:
- If you’re sick with COVID-19 or self isolating because of suspected COVID-19 restrict your contact with your pet. Where possible ask another member of your household to care for your pets.
- If you must care for your pet or be around animals while self isolating with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cover your face with a cloth or a mask and wash your hands before and after interacting with your pet.
- If you’re healthy and not suspected of having COVID-19 enjoy your animal / human bond as normal. As I’m sure you’ve heard many times before just wash your hands more regularly. We’d also for now not let your pet give you any kisses!
Here is a handy way to share this information! Feel free to use this graphic wherever you want!
It’s also worth adding that pets bring so many positive benefits, especially in these troubling times. They bring mental health benefits and many physical benefits such as helping reduce blood pressure. You can read a bit more about that HERE. These benefits are the things to remember during this pandemic.I know without my dogs right now I’d be lost. They keep me company, I talk to them more than anyone now apart from my wife.
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