# Heads Up, Cat People. Kitty Can Catch CoV-2. **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 9, 2020, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402 "2020-04-09T05:04:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/1 "2020-04-09T05:04:42Z")
[Thread title says it all](https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-pets/cats-can-catch-coronavirus-study-finds-prompting-who-investigation-idUSKCN21Q3DJ). (Reuters) > [@](#): > > Cats can become infected with the new coronavirus but dogs appear not to be vulnerable, according to a study published on Wednesday, prompting the WHO to say it will take a closer look at transmission of the virus between humans and pets. > > The study, published on the website of the journal Science, found that ferrets can also become infected with SARS-CoV-2, the scientific term for the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease. > > Dogs, chickens, pigs and ducks are not likely to catch the virus, however, the researchers found. Do what you can to keep kitty safe, too! ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/2 "2020-04-09T05:16:36Z")
yeah those tigers getting infected threw everyone for a loop … although housecats are social animals … how you gonna explain to tabby you cant give the normal expected affection? ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/3 "2020-04-09T05:23:49Z")
My cats are indoor cats, and nobody’s been over to the house for a few months. I’ve been going out only for essentials when necessary, so I think my cats are okay. Good to know though–thanks! ---
**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 9, 2020, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/4 "2020-04-09T05:41:03Z")
My Siameezers are antisocial anyway. I’m so NOT trying to put masks on them. Handwashing they might like, they love running water. (:)) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/5 "2020-04-09T06:15:10Z")
I don’t think mine would stand having her paws washed for 20 seconds each. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/6 "2020-04-09T09:00:38Z")
They may get infected with the virus, but the real question is, does it affect them the same way? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/7 "2020-04-09T09:18:30Z")
The tigers involved raised a flag because they had a dry cough, so at least to that extent they have a similar symptom. Clearly, you need to treat your household cats as other families members you may be self-isolating with. I realize that cats accustomed to roaming may be hard to keep in the house, but that would be an ideal. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/8 "2020-04-09T10:08:47Z")
Feral alley cats are all over the place. Will they become carriers of the disease, like mice with hanta and rats with the Plague of old? ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/9 "2020-04-09T10:21:03Z")
Probably not like plague rats, because they gave it to fleas, and it was the fleas biting humans that transferred the disease. But wow, is there going to be a campaign against feral cats. I can see PSAs against touching stray cats, and Animal Control in hazmat suits rounding them up for immediate destruction. I’ll bet a lot of shelters are just going to destroy all their adult cats, since no one is going to adopt a new cat during the lockdown. I am glad our cat is indoor-only. She is safe unless one of _us_ gets it. Cripes. So really, we don’t have anything to fear from her, we just have to worry about making her sick. She’s almost 13, too. And my son loves her so much. Right now, she is his favorite living creature in the world. He actually goes out less than the rest of us. Maybe we should confine her to his room. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/10 "2020-04-09T10:27:07Z")
Wow, I just remembered-- in some places without long-standing spay/neuter programs, cats are EVERYWHERE. In Jerusalem, there’s a cat every ten feet, whichever way you turn, I’m really not exaggerating. They are all over Israel in general, but especially in Jerusalem. People feed them, and a lot of them have semi-pet status-- that is, they have a round of homes they go to every day or couple of days for food, and they get affection; they are allowed on porches, and get some shelter from rain, but they don’t ever go inside, and no one takes them to the vet. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/11 "2020-04-09T10:30:48Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > My cats are indoor cats, and nobody’s been over to the house for a few months. I’ve been going out only for essentials when necessary, so I think my cats are okay. Good to know though–thanks! Pretty much describes my situation as well. In the time before the Corona virus crisis, I’d had two indoor and one outdoor cat. But in anticipation of a move I had, with great trepidation, brought the outdoor cat indoors, fingers crossed that he’d neither go stir crazy or pick fights with the two indoor cats (both behaviors having figured into my reluctant decision to turn him into an outdoor cat in the first place). In the event, he adapted instantly to indoor life. I made my move and all three cats are doing well as indoor cats in the new place. Whew. I’m a “facts first” person, so if there are legitimate issues surrounding cats and virus transmission, we need to face them and act accordingly - humanely, but accordingly. My fear, however, is that a few sickos will use this as an excuse to torture or cruelly execute innocent and harmless cats. Damn, I sure hope that doesn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/12 "2020-04-09T10:56:07Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Wow, I just remembered-- in some places without long-standing spay/neuter programs, cats are EVERYWHERE. In Jerusalem, there’s a cat every ten feet, whichever way you turn, I’m really not exaggerating. They are all over Israel in general, but especially in Jerusalem. People feed them, and a lot of them have semi-pet status-- that is, they have a round of homes they go to every day or couple of days for food, and they get affection; they are allowed on porches, and get some shelter from rain, but they don’t ever go inside, and no one takes them to the vet. Connoisseurs of feline geography know that, the way Harajuku has a Cat Street, Jerusalem has a Cat Square. Presumably so called because of all the cats. I had heard Israel has some funding for trap-neuter-release sterilization of feral cats, but evidently not enough. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/13 "2020-04-09T14:24:04Z")
But can they transmit back to humans? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/14 "2020-04-09T15:08:50Z")
Unknown. ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/15 "2020-04-09T15:13:53Z")
Can it jump from humans to cats? ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/16 "2020-04-09T15:25:41Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > Can it jump from humans to cats? I don’t see how there’s any other way it could have. The tigers caught it from the trainer. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/17 "2020-04-09T15:30:47Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Wow, I just remembered-- in some places without long-standing spay/neuter programs, cats are EVERYWHERE. In Jerusalem, there’s a cat every ten feet, whichever way you turn, I’m really not exaggerating. They are all over Israel in general, but especially in Jerusalem. People feed them, and a lot of them have semi-pet status-- that is, they have a round of homes they go to every day or couple of days for food, and they get affection; they are allowed on porches, and get some shelter from rain, but they don’t ever go inside, and no one takes them to the vet. Istanbul, too. It’s one of my favorite things about Istanbul. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/18 "2020-04-09T15:34:10Z")
How serious is it for cats? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/19 "2020-04-09T16:07:46Z")
Unknown. You might notice that is the answer to quite a few questions about this new virus. Because it’s new. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402/20 "2020-04-09T16:09:30Z")
There is much confusion here. Coronaviruses come in many flavors. One strain infects cats, and it is an intestinal bug. Most cats suffer an episode, and it clears up. It is prevalent in kenneled cats, such as an animal shelter, where it spreads easily. In a VERY small percentage of cats who suffer the benign version of gut rumbles from coronavirus, the virus mutates inside of them. It stays in the gut, and does terrible things. The cats suffer a wasting disease, and fluid collects in their abdomens. It becomes an awful version of coronavirus called “Feline Infectious Peritonitis.” It’s fatal. It is something that stays in the cat population, though, no cross-species infection that I know of. I lost a cat to FIP. And it is the reason why I will never adopt a rescue again. I am going to be following this coronavirus now causing respiratory infections in the big cats. I’m curious as to how they were infected, and if the infection can be transmitted to people. The one thing I learned when I researched coronavirus after I lost my poor kitty, was that this damned thing MUTATES. ~VOW (RIP, Peri. I’ll meet you one day at Rainbow Bridge) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/heads-up-cat-people-kitty-can-catch-cov-2/851402.md?page=2)