The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
An update on Covid-19 and pets: all is well
CATS can suffer from various forms of respiratory disease, but last week, one particular young Siamese cat hit the headlines after developing a bit of a snuffle. She was the first animal in the UK to be diagnosed with the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19.
If this had happened even just three months ago, there would have been a bit of a commotion: however, with the benefit of improved knowledge of the virus, the reaction in the media was calm and reasonable.
The facts are now clear: cats (and dogs) are not involved in the spread of Covid-19. There is no evidence that they have ever been responsible for transmitting the disease to humans, or to each other.
There have been over 18 million cases of humans with Covid-19, yet less than a hundred cases globally of dogs and cats being recorded as positive.
Most of the tiny number of dogs involved did not even become properly infected: it is thought that they were positive simply as transient vectors of the virus. They were living with humans with Covid-19, and the virus landed on them, stayed on them (and in their digestive tract) for a short while, then moved on. The dogs were unaffected and remained in good health but they did show up positive on some tests for the virus.
Cats are a little different: the miniscule number of cases have, again, only been infected after living with people who are positive. But in contrast to dogs, these cats have actually become infected, rather than just acting as temporary physical carriers of the virus. Affected cats have generally made a full recovery, after showing signs of mild respiratory or digestive disease.
They have not suffered from the serious, life threatening or fatal complications suffered by some humans. So all in all, we know that there is really nothing much to be concerned about for pets and the global pandemic.
It has been difficult for vets to know how to advise pet owners on this topic: we have needed to find the balance between being reasonably cautious but not upsetting people by talking about theoretical risks. In early April, before we knew so much about the disease, the British Veterinary Association inadvertently caused panic among cat owners after an interview with its president in national media. She seemed to suggest that the safest option might be to keep the eleven million cats living in the UK indoors all the time. While this was just an ultra-cautious suggestion which was strictly accurate on the basis of our knowledge at that time, it was enough to cause panic amongst many cat owners.
The BVA’s website crashed as people logged on to try to find out what they should do, and a swift review of the best advice was carried out by the organisation. On reflection, the advice was distilled down to a simpler, less extreme version: if a cat owner tests as Covid-19 positive, and if their cat is happy to be kept indoors all the time, then it makes sense to do so. And the same applies if someone is in self-isolation for a few weeks, because of the small risk that they might be brewing the virus. These simple precautions deal with the tiny possibility that a cat in the same house might have picked up the virus from their human owner.
Furthermore, people who may be positive for Covid-19 should “socially distance” themselves from their pets in their own homes. They should avoid cuddling them closely, and try to get other people to care for them. Incidentally, this advice has always applied for any situation where a person is unwell: it just makes good hygienic sense to stay in your own bubble as much as possible when you have any disease that might be even slightly infectious in some unusual way.
The idea of “living in a self-contained bubble” also applies to the way that different households should interact with other households’ pets. Normally, it’s fine to pet other people’s pets, to take other families’ dogs for walks, and to be relaxed about interactions with animals in your community. But at the moment, just as we are distancing ourselves from others in supermarkets and shops, so it makes sense to keep a distance from other people’s pets. Just as virus particles can be carried on people’s hands and possessions, so they could be, in theory at least, be carried on a pet’s coat. So this is not the time to take your neighbours’ dogs for walks or to welcome their pet cat into your kitchen for a mid-morning snack. This time will pass, but for now, we all need to get used to living in our own household units, without contacting others.
There are, of course, occasions when these guidelines can be broken: some animals absolutely need interactions from other households. Some dogs utterly depend on having walks from neighbours, some cats need to be fed and petted by others. We need to remember that the risk of an infection being passed on is ultra-low, and the “living in bubbles” guide is an ultra-cautious approach. We need to be sensible and measured about how we live. Each situation needs to be judged on its own particular specific details.
If your cat develops a runny eye and a sneeze, it’s far, far, more likely to be the common cat flu that we vets see all the time. Please don’t worry too much about the rare situations that are reported in the media.