While at first it sounded like the universe was playing a giant Tiger King-themed prank, there’s mounting evidence that cats — wild and domestic — really are susceptible to the novel coronavirus. And despite early good news from the World Health Organisation (WHO) that dogs were immune to the novel coronavirus, it now appears that they can also become infected, although the risk seems to be lower in dogs than in cats. “Infections of dogs and cats are possible, but they’re very rare,” says Jane Sykes, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of California. They have not found any positive cases among 4,000 dogs, cats, and horses tested. “People need to be aware that there’s lots of causes of respiratory disease in dogs and cats, and respiratory disease is common in dogs and cats,” she says.

Source: Standard Digital April 09, 2020 03:56 UTC