Cats with no symptoms spread virus to other cats in lab test

Cats can spre new coronavirus to or cats without any of m ever having symptoms, a lab experiment suggests.

Scientists who led work, reported on Wednesday, say it shows need for more research into wher virus can spre from people to cats to people again.

Health experts have downplayed that possibility. American Veterinary Medical Association said in a new statement that just because an animal can be deliberately infected in a lab “does t mean that it will easily be infected with that same virus under natural conditions.”

Anyone concerned about that risk should use “common sense hygiene,” said virus expert Peter Halfmann. Don’t kiss your pets and keep surfaces clean to cut chances of picking up any virus an animal might shed, he said.

He and colleagues at University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine led lab experiment and

Researchers took coronavirus from a human patient and infected three cats with it. Each cat n was housed with ar cat that was free of infection. Within five days, coronavirus was found in all three of newly exposed animals.

ne of six cats ever showed any symptoms.

“re was sneezing, coughing, y never h a high body temperature or lost any weight,” Halfmann said. “If a pet owner looked at m ... y wouldn’t have ticed anything.”

Last month, two domestic cats in different parts of New York state

Some tigers and lions at Bronx Zoo also have tested positive for virus, as have a small number of or animals around world.

Those cases and new lab experiment show “re is a public health need to recognize and furr investigate potential chain of human-cat-human transmission,” authors wrote.

veterinary medicine group says “re is evidence to suggest that animals, including pets, that may be incidentally infected by humans are playing a role in spre of COVID-19.” It stressed that person-to-person transmission was driving global pandemic.

However, group ted that many diseases spre between pets and people, so hygiene is always important: Wash your hands before and after touching pets, and keep your pet and its food and water bowls clean.

Halfmann, whose two cats sleep near him, said worry may be greater for animal shelters, where one infected animal could pass virus to many ors.