Ragdoll Cat Forums

11-5-09
DES MOINES, Iowa -

A 13-year-old Iowa cat has been infected with swine flu, veterinary and federal officials said Wednesday, and it is believed to be the first case of the H1N1 virus in a feline.

The domestic shorthaired cat was treated last week at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ames and has recovered, officials said. The virus also has been confirmed in two ferrets — one in Oregon and the other in Nebraska — but they died.

"We've known certainly it's possible this could happen," said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesman Tom Skinner. "This may be the first instance where we have documentation that transmission occurred involving cats or dogs."

The veterinarian who treated the cat, Dr. Brett Sponseller, said two of the three people in the cat's Iowa home had flu-like symptoms before the cat became ill. The case was confirmed at both Iowa State and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.



You can read the rest of the article HERE

Well I for one hope this is an isolated incident. Stay well all you furkids and of course all you moms and dads.

Glad to see your post.

What?!? This is just crazy to me! I'm a nurse and work at a medical clinic. I'm with super sick people all day every day. Well lo and behold, I got the flu last week. I was seen by one of our docs, and since we don't test for H1N1, she said that according to my symptoms it was "probable" H1N1. So I spent the entire last week cooped up in bed trying to get well. Stayed away from my roommate and the outside world as to not infect anyone else!! But I never would have thought about infecting my cats!! They were with me the whole time, cuddled up in bed wishing me well. Yikes! It's been a week now and they're fine though. Wow, good to know... Thanks for the post!

Hi Diane,
I haven't had chance to read article yet.
I wounder,,, if they can catch it from us are they then able to pass it on to humans and other animals?

Very likely. In general, so called zoonotic illnesses can be transferred both directions. However, it is possible it may not be passed back and forth easily. With so many folks with the flu having cats, we will probably hear of many more cases if it is easily passed. So far, I would not expect that.

jellybean Wrote:Hi Diane,
I haven't had chance to read article yet.
I wounder,,, if they can catch it from us are they then able to pass it on to humans and other animals?

Hi All!

I'm new to the forum (you can see my kitties in introductions) , but I thought that I'd comment on this. I've read a few articles on this and they all say that all of the animal incidents have been human to animal, not animal to human. There is not one confirmed case of an animal infecting a human, but there is evidence to the other. The article also gives tips on how to avoid getting your kitties sick. Basically the same way we protect eachother.

Chrissy