Can You Get COVID-19 From Your Pet? Experts Aren't Sure
BOSTON (CBS) - If you're like a lot of pet-owners, your dog or cat is an important part of the family.
"It never ceases to amaze me what people will do, and how they view their animals, and the measures they'll go if they're sick," said Dr. Jeff Barrow, of Marshfield Animal Hospital.
But these days, the question is: Can my pet get COVID-19? The answer is ... maybe. Experts aren't quite sure. At the Angell Memorial Medical Center in Boston, doctors are researching the issue.
"We do have some evidence that cats can get it," said Dr. Virginia Sinnot-Stutzman, of Angell Memorial Medical Center in Boston. "Domestic cats seem not to get sick from it."
Dogs have shown no signs of getting COVID-19
And there's no evidence that a pet can transmit the virus to humans.
"While it is possible that their pets may become infected with COVID-19 - we are not sure, but it seems there's a possibility," said Dr. Scott Shaw of the VCA Animal Hospital, "there's no evidence at all that it could be transmitted from the animal to the people,"
If your pet does manage to get COVID-19, then you should treat it like a human who has the virus and isolate it.