When you’re home sick, snuggling with a pet can have tremendous healing powers. “Plus,” you might say to yourself, “at least Fluffy can’t catch this awful swine flu I have.” Well….not so fast. It’s not common, but a cat in Iowa has been diagnosed with, and recovered from, swine flu.
The 13-year-old indoor cat in Iowa was brought to the Lloyd Veterinary Medical Center at Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, where it tested positive for the H1N1 virus. …
“Two of the three members of the family that owns the pet had suffered from influenza-like illness before the cat became ill,” said IDPH Public Health Veterinarian, Dr. Ann Garvey. “This is not completely unexpected, as other strains of influenza have been found in cats in the past.” Both the cat and its owners have recovered from their illnesses.
Perhaps this is the cue for pet stores across the country to set up displays of tiny paper masks and bottles of paw sanitizer.
Cat catches swine flu [Washington Post] (Thanks, Sarah!)
Protecting Pets from Illness [Iowa Department of Public Health]
(Photo: htby)
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-You no has cheezeburger, I see.
-I will catch piggy flu if I not has cheezeburgers, you see.
-I caught piggy flu : (
I’m a cat whisperer.
“displays of tiny paper masks and bottles of paw sanitizer”
don’t give them ideas.
@UrIt: That would be SO ADORABLE
I can has vakseen?
Saw this on Time magazine’s site yesterday, I think. The headline was “I can has swine flu?”
Great. That cat will start the cat zombie apocalypse…and it’s in my state! Excuse me while I go load some ammo clips…
Of course, the cats will be calling it “human flu”, and insisting we wash our hands BEFORE we pet them.
I need to make a lolcat now:
“Cuddle with sick hooman, you says. Kitteh can’t get swine flu, you says.”
I call BS. Reason being is that human and feline immune systems are vastly different. In fact, human and animal immune systems are different. This is why we don’t contract sicknesses from them and vice versa except after something has had enough time to mutate in one immune system. While animals and humans can contract viruses from each other, it takes more time than this, I think this cat “caught” H1N1 to cause a stir.
This is exactly why elephants never caught avian flu, or hamsters don’t get strep throat. Physiologically, it just doesn’t work out. Ask a scientist.
@jwestfall: It’s called a zoonose — a disease that can switch species. Birds don’t have immune systems much like humans but other influenza strains can switch between them. Bartonella (Cat Scratch Disease) moves between humans and felines. Both cats and humans can be infected by Yersinia Pestis (the stuff you get Bubonic Plague from.)
Spider cat pig, spider cat pig, does whatever, a spider cat pig does.
Here kitty kitty!
Poor puddy tat! Glad it recovered.
@ARP: It called out sick from the photo shoot on the count of Swine Flu.
@ARP: Oddly, there is one in the RSS feed for this article.
@pecan 3.14159265: I find myself “gesundheit”-ing my cat quite often.
Of course, I also explained the meaning of “coniferous” to my cat one night.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): I had the same reaction! I hate it when my little Rasputin gets sick! It’s so sad.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): I can’t wait until mobs of people demand flu shots for their animals. Humans be damned.
@Eyebrows McGee (now with more baby!): I’m right there with you. I work from home, but Ms. Caged works in an office – after reading this if she comes down with the flu she’s staying at her parents until she’s better. Must protect our kitters!
@catastrophegirl: When my cat (RIP) was a kitten, she figured out that if she climbed the screen door and dangled from the top corner long enough, the screen would come loose and she could go outside.
Clever little shit.
@RecordStoreToughGuy_IsBeing(pur)SuedByAMonster: M-O-O-N, that spells swine flu.
@speedwell, avatar of snark:So in addition to STDs, pussies can now catch H1N1.
@catastrophegirl: I am pretty sure I caught it from Halloween parties but now I am worried I will give it to my cat. Especially since she has been extra cuddly due to my raised body temp.
@Smashville_now with Monster Energy: Nah, you are just in an area with a high chance of kittehs that have problems they may or may not be able to overcome. I’ve lost an unsettling amount of kittens to the same disease, which can be traced to the mother’s mother (apparently, they are all carriers).
But the cats that live through it live for a long time, unless they’re outright killed by something else, like our neighbors. Lost the oldest to a gunshot to the head, and nearly lost MY cat (My Tophie) to a purposely aimed buckshot. Those neighbors are assholes. It was that incident that I found respect for the family dog, which went out of his way to find her and then notify us.
@CumaeanSibyl: They’re pretty much saying “if you’re having flu-like symptoms, it’s H1N1,” so go ahead and join the porcine horde.
Also, I’m with you. I’ve been rocking the flu this week (it suuuuuuuuuuucks…body aches and chills were epic, now I have a horrible sore throat and congestion and a barking cough) and my kitties have been looking after me. Okay my husband bought me Mucinex and Gatorade, but the cats lay on me and purr and make with the cute.
@bohemian: Seriously, I’ve had cats around all my life; how exactly does one KNOW when kitty has a cold?
@masterage: Isn’t that illegal?
@rocketbear79: threadkiller:
Our 3 year old granddaughter demands to see the baby panda sneezing video every time she comes over. It sends her into giggle-fits!