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H1N1 Confirmed in Iowa Cat

Wed, 2009-11-04 14:01 — Robin Olson

Oh my GOD. I'm REALLY REALLY scared to think of what this might mean for cats with URI's who are at shelters and our own cats...

It was announced today that the first case of H1N1 Flu was been diagnosed in a CAT. This Press Release from the AVMA describes the situation in detail.

What do you think? I'm afraid to even put out this news because of how "hot button" the topic is-and what it could mean if people over react to the news.

Oh boy...this is a terrible day indeed.

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Comments

Wed, 2009-11-04 16:32 — catsrthebest (not verified)

Hi Robin. I too am not happy to hear this. Suffice it to say we can assume people will overreact. While I do not want any animals harmed it might be helpful if h1n1 was also discovered in a dog who had recovered too. It might help people keep it in perspective knowing that all pets can be affected.

Unfortunately the media does not seem very good at presenting things in an intelligent and thoughful manner. Prayers said that they manage to do a better job this time.

Thu, 2009-11-05 09:11 — AnnaBanana74

As we know too well, there are people out there who will use this as an excuse to dump their pets. I think it's important to have as much accurate info out there about pets recovering as possible. There are relatively few confirmed companion animal cases, yes (I know it's been confirmed in ferrets, too)? There are far more human cases - which makes me wonder if they're catching it from us and not the other way around.

Go forth and educate! There are well-intentioned people (who don't have the same resources we are fortunate enough to have) who WILL ask for help. If their neighbor searches for "Swine flu cats" or "h1n1 cats" for them, we want them to find info on sites like this, rather than some message board that whips up hysteria and calls for mass euthanasia. The jerks will be out there no matter what and there's nothing legal we can do to make them see the light, but we can offer guidance to those who seek it.

(Does HSUS or ASPCA have an H1N1 page that you could link to?)

Thu, 2009-11-05 11:45 — Robin Olson

I just read an article on Time, Inc about the situation. It's clear that the cat was geriatric and TWO of the cat's family members had a "bad" flu. H1N1 IS found in ferrets and the AVMA posted that it's not surprising that a cat would get it. That said, the cat did not give it to the human, it was the other way around.

I'll keep an eye out for info. If you find anything, post it here so our readers can get the word out. It IS important for people to understand that this flu is different and that we can give it to our cats, not the other way around. It's important not to panic, but with the way the news is handled-not accurate, over-hyping things, I DO fear for the welfare of all cats.

WE should be wearing the protective masks and taking the responsibility for this and not pushing it off on the cats.

I guess we'll just see what transpires. It could be a fluke.

Thu, 2009-11-05 15:11 — debrue

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/the-cat-who-got-swine-flu/

This gave some valuable information about the cat getting the flu from his humans...

Sat, 2009-11-07 12:01 — thethumbedinden...

one poor cat, infected by humans. Millions of cats at risk through ignorance. :(

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