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Dexter and Corona
We have been following COVID-19 with care. One reason, our adopted Chihuahua. Dexter has atopic dermatitis, which means he already has an over-reacting immune system. And of course, with this new virus, the question has come. Can my dog or cat get it? It turns out that cats may. And you might have heard about the Bronx Zoo tiger that got it from an employee. And it was not just one cat. It seems large cats have a serious case of the sniffles.
However, it is not clear if companion animals can get it. We have some anecdotal information regarding this. A few dogs got it in Hong Kong and were placed in quarantine. One got it in Belgium. Yet, the World Health Organization says that so far our companions should be safe. But we have some limited studies that tell us that cats may be susceptible to the virus, more than dogs.
There are still many unanswered questions about the novel coronavirus, but this week, new and surprising information about the transmission of the virus was revealed: A tiger at the Bronx Zoo tested positive — and health officials say she caught it from a zoo employee who had COVID-19, but was asymptomatic. The big cat is expected to recover, but its diagnosis worried many pet owners. Could their feline friends get the virus, too?
Researchers in China say they’ve determined that domestic cats are susceptible to airborne infection with the…