Can dogs and cats become infected with the COVID-19?

Can dogs and cats become infected with the COVID-19?

Many forms of coronaviruses exist, including those that infect cats and dogs. These canine- and feline-specific coronaviruses and their respective types (or groups) have no history of infecting people and are not related to the current COVID-19 crisis. While there have been isolated instances of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19 in humans) detection in both dogs and cats, at this time the only transmission process that’s been confirmed is from infected humans to cats, not from infected cats to humans. It is unlikely for COVID-19 to adapt itself following instances of infection in animals such as dogs and cats, and then transfer to people.

As stated by the American Veterinarian Medical Association, “infectious disease experts and multiple international and domestic human and animal health organizations (CDC, OIE, WHO) agree there is little to no evidence at this point to indicate that pets can spread COVID-19 to other animals, including people.” ¹ Out of an abundance of caution, if a person becomes infected with COVID-19, they should limit contact with pets.

There will continue to be intense scrutiny and evaluation by coronavirus disease experts of these rare, isolated cases of COVID-19 reported in animals.