Cat gets H1N1: Furry housemates may have flu risk, too

Oh no! What if I wake up and look like this? Please don't let me get the swine flu!

By The Washington Post and The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Does the swine-flu pandemic pose a threat to your pet? Yes, according to a new report from the American Veterinary Medical Association.

A cat in Iowa tested positive for the H1N1 virus, state officials confirmed Wednesday, "marking the first time a cat has been diagnosed with this strain of influenza," the association said.

The 13-year-old domestic short-haired kitty was treated last week at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ames and 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 (CDC) 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 Iowa State and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Other influenza strains have been known to cross species, but Sponseller cautioned against drawing too many conclusions from the cat, including whether other pets also could get the swine flu: "It's well documented in influenza in general, but this is the first highly suspected case of H1N1 going from humans into a cat."

The indoor cat was lethargic, had a loss of appetite and appeared to have trouble breathing after it became infected, Sponseller said. Its owners declined to comment.

Officials said pet owners should take the same precautions against spreading swine flu to pets as they would with humans.

Getting children vaccinated for swine flu also can help prevent the illness from spreading to pets. There is no swine-flu vaccine for pets.

Dr. Ann Garvey, Iowa's state health veterinarian, said it is not known how sick pets could get from swine flu. "Because we haven't seen that many cases, it's difficult to give a blanket assessment on how sick it can make an animal," she said.

Officials also stressed there is no evidence swine flu can be passed from pets to people. "But it's so early in the game we don't know how it's going to behave," said Michael San Filippo, spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association.