The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has been found that it can be transmitted among domestic cats.
A Japanese-US study found that even if infected cats may not show any symptoms the infection can be passed on other cats. The study is conducted by a research team working in Tokyo and Wisconsin.
The team from the University of Tokyo and the University of Wisconsin-Madison published what they have discovered online on Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a veterinarian and professor in the research team, recommends cat owners keep their pets indoors, as they may contract the virus without the owner being aware.
Still, the study said that while there is no evidence of the virus being transmitted from cats to humans, it is important to get a better understanding of the potential role of pets in the pandemic.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories confirmed in April that two pet cats had been infected with the novel coronavirus. Moreover, infections among cats have been reported in Belgium and Hong Kong.
The CDC claimed that pets don’t have a role in the spread of the virus in the US that caused the pandemic.
For the Japanese-US study, the research team took samples of the virus from a human and infected three cats with it by putting large doses into the eyes, nostrils, mouth, and trachea. The cat subjects were kept in a US laboratory.
After that, the infected cats were housed with an uninfected cat. After five days, the uninfected cat was found to be infected as well.
Following the positive tests, the team said that all six cats continued testing positive for about five days.
Blood tests showed that they produced antibodies for 24 days after the first positive test.
Even if the cats were infected, the team said that none showed any symptoms. All cats kept normal body temperature, weight, and behavior.
Pointing to evidence that humans can transmit the virus to cats and that cats can spread it to other cats, pet owners “should keep a distance from their cats” if they are found to have been infected, Kawaoka said.
The researchers emphasized that it is more likely that humans are giving the virus to their pets, rather than pets causing humans to become ill.
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