A 16-pound orange tabby in Ames, Iowa, did something last month that will now and forevermore have a lot of cat lovers taking care to sneeze into their sleeves.
The tabby came down with H1N1 swine flu, proving that humans ill with the flu virus should take pains not to spread it to cats as well as humans. The case surprised human and animal health authorities, who hadn’t seen a human flu virus passed to a cat before, though passionate cat lovers were shaking their heads knowingly when it was reported last week.
“If we come down with a cold, pretty soon we see our cats sneezing,” she said. Though that association could be a bit of a stretch, veterinary medical experts and zookeepers say there are a number of diseases that humans can share with the rest of the animal world, and the list seems to get a little longer every year. “This cat is a new development in the H1N1 panic,” said Kimberly May, a veterinary doctor and assistant director of professional services at the American Veterinary Medical Association.
“In general, cats are not considered susceptible to human flu viruses, but this cat got H1N1 flu from his owners. There seems to be no doubt about that, and from our understanding, it seems to be the first time a cat caught flu from a human.” The Iowa tabby is an indoor cat never allowed outside, said a report from the Illinois Department of Public Health. It had not been around any humans other than its owners, and in the last week of October, the owners came down with the flu, assumed to be H1N1. Cats now join a small list of other animals known to be susceptible to H1N1, including ferrets, domestic turkeys and pigs. Though sometimes called swine flu, the current strain does not come from swine.
No dogs are known to have caught H1N1, but that possibility can no longer be ruled out, said May.
Yes, I think it’s officially time to panic!
the key word is ASSUMED to be h1n1… most people who are ASSUMED to have h1n1, don’t really have it…
Domestic turkeys?
“Yes, I think it’s officially time to panic!”
My boss reminded me to be sure to do my quarterly training this week. This is usually a 5-10 minute video about avoiding accidents on the highway, updates on Dept of Transportation rules for big trucks, etc. I was expecting something on driving safely in winter weather.
Imagine my surprise when the title was “Swine Flu”. Some bozo from the CDC began talking about flu in pigs that occasionally may jump the species to humans, normally those who work everyday with pigs. Then some blather about some deaths from years ago. Then crap about the symptoms being much the same as the regular flu. And the advice to take some drugs as quickly as possible if you think you are coming down with swine flu as the drugs may help you recover quicker.
The video also said there currently was NOT a vaccination for the swine flu which leads me to believe the video was prepared much earlier and has just been sitting around at the CDC since it was produced. Sort of like the canned obituaries news organizations have on people.
What the hell my company thinks they are accomplishing by making this the quarterly training material I haven’t a clue. I did though score 100% correct on the ten multiple choice questions my company asks at the end (to make sure you paid attention).
cats make great heating pads when you are sick, had the flu a few years ago, lots of chills got a heating pad for my back, was hanging out on the couch under a quilt, was still very cold, cat thought it was great i was there, and laid on top of me, damn she made me feel much warmer,,, 🙂 good kitty stay right there 🙂
Swine flu is what pigs get, not people, or cats. Cats get feline flu, people get human flu, horses get horse flu, cows get bovine flu, birds get avian flu.
First don’t panic!!!
and “Internet Flu”
“Swine flu is what pigs get, not people, or cats. Cats get feline flu, people get human flu, horses get horse flu, cows get bovine flu, birds get avian flu.”
Swine flu, feline flu these are names the media gives them don’t let them fool you
H1N1
H5N1
H1N2
H3N2
H7N7
H3N8
those are the real names
Assumptions are fact now? Are things that desperate?
*emphasis added by Dale
#1 “the owners came down with the flu, assumed to be H1N1”. Good catch Jim. I saw it too, and thought “they’re not even supposed to be testing for it anymore, in humans, since July. Are we supposed to believe Vets now are? That’s why they can’t say for certain that the cat’s owner had H1N1. But somehow that gets glossed over, and it becomes a certainty that car did. Amazing how medical science works.
The cat probably started “sneezing” because it learned it got more attention mimicking humans doing this. If the cat started singing for its meals, would they claim it caught the Hannah Montana flu?