Can Your Cats Catch The Corona Outbreak? – Ever since the news of Wuhan isolation spread throughout the world, people became more and more wary of the Coronavirus. As pet-owners, you may have worried about the epidemic beyond yourself because Corona is reportedly found on animals such as pangolins and bats first. Is it possible for the outbreak to affect your cats?

• Can Corona Infect Felines?
Yes, but not the Corona mutation from the latest outbreak. As it was first found in bats and pangolins, it’s not questionable if the virus can affect other animals. In fact, it reportedly affects common pets such as cats and dogs for several decades now. Cats, in particular, can get infected by a mutation called FCoV or Feline Corona Virus the way we are infected by the fun online poker games.

The latest found mutation, COVID-19, is different from the FCoV. According to Express (13/2), Corona will not be able to affect animals after it mutates to affect humans. As COVID-19 happens to only infect humans and have no newer reported mutation, it is safe to say that no animals will be infected by the newly mutated virus. This, however, doesn’t mean your cat is safe from FCoV.

• How Does FCoV Infect Cats?
Another good news about FCoV is that it is unlikely to cause an outbreak compared to COVID-19. After all, instead of being totally infectious and being airborne, it spreads through contacts with infected feces.

In other words, cats will only be infected FCoV only if Corona inhibits then mutates in their body or they can get a secondhand infection from other infected cats’ feces. As long as your cats are indoors and not infected before you adopt them, they should be safe from FCoV. However, once they are infected, the effects may be fatal as it causes Feline Infectious Peritonitis – a deadly disease that inflames cats’ digestion organs.

• Are There Any Research and Cure?
Many research had been conducted globally concerning FCoV. For one, NCBI published a research paper on FCoV immunization. Vaccine for the virus also reportedly available in several European countries and America. Sadly, said vaccine has controversies, which means the disease is not officially curable. The best pet-owners can do is cleaning litterbox on a regular basis to avoid the infection.

So, will your cats get caught in the outbreak? So far, there’s no evidence of any feline infection. However, they may catch FCoV (Feline Corona Virus), a corona mutation that affects cats. Just like COVID-19, the feline-infecting virus has yet to have a real cure. However, since it is not airborne, you can prevent the infection by cleaning the litterbox regularly.