A cat appears to have caught the coronavirus, but it’s complicated
A cat in Belgium seems to have become infected with the coronavirus and may have had COVID-19, the disease that the virus causes. While the case — the first reported in cats — suggests that the animals can catch the virus, there is no evidence that felines play a role in spreading the coronavirus, and it’s still unclear how susceptible they are to the disease. “This is an isolated case, so it is not the rule,” microbiologist Emmanuel André of KU Leuven said March 27 at a news conference held by Belgium’s public health institute. The cat probably picked up the virus, called SARS-CoV-2, from its owner, who fell ill with COVID-19 after traveling to northern Italy. About a week later, the cat started to show signs of illness: respiratory issues, nausea and diarrhea. In lab tests, feces and vomit samples showed high levels of SARS-CoV-2’s genetic material. But that positive result comes with caveats. The samples were collected and sent...