So,… here we are,…in a pandemic. Literally never thought I’d type that.

The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has caused a global shut down. This minuscule particle has changed the way we live and interact in the world! CRAZY. The disease, covid-19, that is the result of infection from the insidious virus, shares many common traits of my thesis work (shameless plug). A large challenge with any disease that spreads without clear clinical signs is that we must assume that everyone is sick. Asymptomatic carriers are my hell, both in my thesis and now in everyday life.

The question specific to this blog would be how does it impact my pet???

There seems to be a lot of new information coming out daily. Are cats carriers? are dogs carriers? Can we catch the virus from our pets? Can our pets catch it from us? The truth is we might not have the full picture yet but with the info we have so far….

Cats seem to be susceptible, both to infection and to the disease. There have been clinical cases of house cats in New York and well as tigers and lions from the Bronx zoo. As well as experimental research out of China demonstrating infection and transmission in cats. The disease seems to manifest as respiratory disease (cough) and sometimes diarrhea. There is also evidence that humans can pass the disease to cats and cats can pass the disease to each other. However, it has yet to be proven that cats can in turn infect humans.

Dogs seems to also be susceptible to infection but appear to have more resilience when it comes to fighting the disease.

Here is the great news, if you have been following the social distancing recommendations (like you are obviously doing) and applying that to your pets, you are in a very good spot to minimize their and your exposure. This may not be an obvious recommendation for some, I witnessed two people the other day talking to each other while they were taking out their dogs, they were about a leash length away from each other and their dogs were interacting. This isn’t social distancing, sorry. Fred has it, he gave it to his dog, and his dog gave it to your dog. Now you have a dog with corona virus entering your home even though you haven’t actually physically touched/interacted with anyone in 2 months.

Now there hasn’t been proof that dogs or cats can transmit the disease to owners but this is new territory folks. Let’s not take the risk. Keep your pets, and in turn yourself safe. If you do worry your pet is exhibiting signs of covid-19 and/or know they have been exposed to a positive individual contact your veterinarian. Most of the cases we have seen in veterinary medicine have been mild and seem to respond well to supportive care.

Some additional thoughts:

• Don’t hoard pet foods, same thing as toilet paper or lysol wipes!! (eye roll)
• don’t visit dog parks or go on doggie dates (see above)
• Keep yourself and your dog 6 feet apart from other people and dogs
• consider wiping/ cleaning pet paws after they’ve been outside
• don’t put a mask on your pet, there is no evidence that this will prevent disease in these species and furthermore could cause more serious issues such as difficulties breathing! (they like air)
• if you or a member of your household are sick with covid-19, keep yourself isolated from your pet (sorry)
• keep your cats indoors (insert previous diatribe here)
• Just practice good hygiene always, during pandemics and otherwise

If you do find yourself sick with this virus consider having someone else take care of your pet. If this is unfeasible, minimize contact and clean hands frequently (CDC). Finally, take care of your physical and mental health, it is indeed difficult to be thrust into a situation so dramatic so suddenly. Use technology to connect to love ones you are isolated from. Give yourself grace if you’re not as productive as you think you should be. We will get through this!