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But scientists say it’s unclear whether felines can spread the virus to people so pet-owners need not panic yet. Cats can be infected with the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and spread it to other cats, but dogs are not really susceptible to the infection, according to researchers in China. The team, at Harbin Veterinary Research Institute in China, also concludes that chickens, pigs, and ducks are not likely to catch the virus.
Scientists say the findings are interesting, but that cat-owners should not be alarmed just yet. The results are based on lab experiments in which a small number of animals were deliberately infected with high doses of the virus, SARS-CoV-2, and do not represent real-life interactions between people and their pets, says virologist Linda Saif at The Ohio State University in Columbus. There is no direct evidence that the infected cats secreted enough coronavirus to infect people, she says. With the coronavirus spreading rapidly around the world, some have raised concerns about whether the virus can pass between pets and people. So far, there have been a few reports of pets being infected: a cat in Belgium and two dogs in Hong Kong. “Cats and dogs are in close contact with humans, and therefore it is important to understand their susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 for COVID-19 control,” write the authors of the latest study, a preprint posted on bioRxiv on 31 March.
The team, led by virologist Bu Zhigao, infected five domestic cats with SARS-CoV-2 through the nose. When two of the cats were euthanized six days later, the researchers found viral RNA, as well as infectious virus particles, in their upper respiratory tracts. The other three infected cats were put in cages next to three uninfected felines. The team later detected viral RNA in one of the non-infected cats, which suggests that they contracted the virus from the infected cats through respiratory droplets. All four cats also produced antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in cats should be considered as part of efforts to eliminate COVID-19 in humans, the authors note in the preprint, which has not been peer reviewed.
Preprint available in bioRxiv (March 31, 2020):
https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.03.30.015347
Final publication appeared in Science (April 8, 2020):
Keep your cat(s) safe during this pandemic too!