CDC Advice If Your Pet Gets COVID

While COVID-19 is not thought to be widespread in pets, infections have now been confirmed enough that pet owners should be aware of the symptoms and necessary steps to protect their pet and themselves.

It should be acknowledged that there has certainly been mixed messages and confusion in this area. The coronavirus is “novel,” or new. Many aspects of the disease will not be known for years, so don’t expect this to be the last word, just as previous information was subject to change.

Pets like dogs and cats are definitely known to contract COVID-19 and one dog may have died as a result, although that pet reportedly had cancer so that’s as another unknown at this time. Most pets that have been tested exhibit few symptoms and seem to recover fine.

That still leaves a number of issues, including how contagious pets are to humans and other pets. And how should you best take care of them if they exhibit symptoms? Caring pet owners will want to know the answers to the questions, and more.

Fortunately good information is being accumulated. One source is the Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention (CDC). The center has updated its pet advice and offers a convenient, single web page.

The information is extremely comprehensive, including what to do if your pet tests positive to strong warnings against bathing or applying disinfectants and other chemicals directly on your pet.

• Specific topics include:
• What to do if your pet gets sick
• Symptoms to look for.
• How to protect yourself when caring for a sick pet.

For more information, the CDC web page is located at this link.