# First confirmed cases of Covid-19 in house cats. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 23, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-house-cats/852443 "2020-04-23T15:25:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-house-cats/852443/1 "2020-04-23T15:25:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Two cats living in separate areas of New York state are the first pets in the United States to test positive for COVID-19. > > The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories announced the felines had mild respiratory illness and are expected to make a full recovery. > > In a statement, the agencies said a veterinarian tested the first cat after it showed mild respiratory signs. > > No humans in the household were confirmed to be ill with COVID-19. Cat lovers, please keep your kitties indoors and safe. Coronavirus isn’t believed to jump from animals back to humans, but nobody wants to see their pets ill, especially at a time like this. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-house-cats/852443/2 "2020-04-23T17:39:22Z")
And nobody needs people deciding to harm your cats outdoor cats because teh virus!!!1! ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-house-cats/852443/3 "2020-04-25T12:12:25Z")
Considering the tigers and other big cats that likely have it (they show symptoms but the zoos won’t test them because they have to be put out for the test, and that is deemed riskier than the virus), it’s not surprising. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-house-cats/852443/4 "2020-04-28T16:43:12Z")
First cats, and now a dog. [Possible first canine case is detected in NC family’s pet.](https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article242335331.html) > [@](#): > > Duke Health said Monday night it has detected the virus that causes COVID-19 in a family’s pet dog, possibly the first time the virus has been confirmed in a dog. > > The finding, first reported by WRAL, occurred in a Chapel Hill household in which the mother, father and a son enrolled in a study at Duke and tested positive for the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. > > The family decided to have their pug Winston tested as well after they noticed him making a gagging sound and not eating breakfast one day, which was unusual for him, Dr. Heather McLean, the mom and a Duke pediatrician, told the station. Dogs can get canine coronavirus, in fact they’re routinely vaccinated against it, but this is the first case of a dog contracting Covid-19 in the U. S. A. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-house-cats/852443/5 "2020-04-28T16:50:46Z")
Are we setting up for _Planet of the Apes_? ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-house-cats/852443/6 "2020-04-28T19:27:29Z")
“YOU DAMN DIRTY APES!” x ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-house-cats/852443/7 "2020-04-28T19:49:44Z")
That’s it. My Siamese cats will now wear masks and sanitize their paws frequently. **Bear** and **Meeko** are starting to hoard kitty litter. They are social distancing up in the beams and sending death rays from their flashy blue eyes. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-house-cats/852443/8 "2020-04-28T23:37:42Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Are we setting up for _Planet of the Apes_? If cats, dogs, ferrets, bats, and humans can all get it: maybe we’re setting up for Planet Return of the Dinosaurs. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-house-cats/852443/9 "2020-04-29T00:51:04Z")
Are rodents immune? Some years ago I sat at an outside bench in San Francisco’s zoo. A chipmunk frisked me head-to-toe for food. If she’d had COVID, I’d be a goner. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Kovitlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kovitlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kovitlac)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-house-cats/852443/10 "2020-04-29T15:18:01Z")
I worry about my Skittles. He’s in excellent general health, but he’s still 18 years old. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-house-cats/852443/11 "2020-04-29T17:20:43Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > If cats, dogs, ferrets, bats, and humans can all get it: maybe we’re setting up for Planet Return of the Dinosaurs. Don’t forget Pangolins. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/first-confirmed-cases-of-covid-19-in-house-cats/852443/12 "2020-04-29T19:15:13Z")
> [@Kovitlac](#): > > I worry about my Skittles. He’s in excellent general health, but he’s still 18 years old. To the best of my knowledge, all the cats who’ve been diagnosed with it so far have or are expected to recover. On the one hand, that’s a pretty small sample. On the other hand, the small size of the sample implies that either cats only get it rarely, or that cats who get it are usually asymptomatic. ETA: nevertheless, probably only cats’ immediate families, and the vet. if necessary, should handle them. Just in case.