Did a cat in Iowa have swine flu? (H1N1)

Can cats get swine flu?

This article was written by veterinarian, Dr. Marie.

There is a lot of fear in the world right now surrounding the H1N1 flu. “Swine flu” originally started in pigs, and managed to make the transmission to the human population. This flu causes something called “lower respiratory disease” which means that the virus affects the lungs.

There has been a lot of talk in the media lately about a cat being diagnosed with swine flu in Iowa. Here is what we know about the case:

• The 13 year old cat was lethargic and did not want to eat.
• The cat had the following symptoms:
  • Some wheezing was heard in the lungs
  • There was no fever (which accompanies H1N1 in almost all speicies)
  • There was no coughing or sneezing (which accompanies H1N1 in almost all species)
  • On the cat’s xray there were signs of inflammation in the lungs
• The cat tested positive for influenza which lead the lab to run a PCR (i.e. DNA) test for H1N1 which was positive.  (Several family members had H1N1 which may have prompted running the initial test.)
• The cat was not hospitalized but was given outpatient treatment and has made a full recovery after 5 days.

So, did this cat have swine flu?

Here are my thoughts on the situation:

• I do believe that it is possible that this cat came in contact with swine flu.
• It is even possible that the cat’s respiratory symptoms were caused by the swine flu.  However, there are many other possible reasons for a cat to have these symptoms.
• I do not believe that it will be commonplace for cats (or dogs) to be getting sick with swine flu.
• There has never been a proven case of a cat or dog transmitting swine flu to people, so we don’t need to worry about getting H1N1 from our pets.  (If we get any more info on this I will post here immediately!)

Do we need to be worried?

No!  I thoroughly believe that this is a very isolated incidence.  If your cat develops respiratory signs such as sneezing or coughing there are many other things that can be causing the symptoms other than swine flu.  If you are really concerned, your vet can run a test for H1N1, but in the vast majority (if not all) of the cases swine flu will not be the cause.

What are your thoughts?  Do you think we need to worry about pets transmitting H1N1 to people?  Leave a comment below!