Yes, cats get coronavirus. But it’s not the same as the one that causes COVID-19

Despite all the info out there, confusion abounds. Here’s some facts.

Cat coronavirus

Cats can get infected with feline coronavirus (FCoV). It’s actually extremely common. It’s highly contagious – 80–90% of multicat households are infected. It affects the gut.

 

Is cat coronavirus the same as people coronavirus?

No.

FCoV is not the same as the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 (that virus is called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2]). While that virus has (probably) gone from bats to people, there is no evidence that FCoV can be transmitted from cats to people.

Cats do have the receptors in their respiratory tracts that SARS-CoV-2 binds to. In experimental conditions, cats could be infected the original SARS virus and spread to it other cats. They did not become sick and did not spread it to people. No cases of SARS-CoV-2 have been identified in cats at this time.

 
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How do cats get coronavirus?

Cats become infected with FCoV when they ingest the virus. The virus attaches to and takes over the cells lining the small intestine. It uses the cells’ internal mechanisms to replicate itself. The replicated virus then sheds out in poo. Another cat using the same litter tray of toilet area then gets some virus on paws/fur and through self-grooming, ingests the virus. And so the cycle continues.

 

What are the signs of coronavirus in cats?

Most infected cats show no symptoms.

If they do develop signs, then we usually see mild, self-limiting diarrhoea (due to some damage to the small intestinal cells).

While FCoV does not cause serious disease as it is, it can undergo a genetic mutation in some cats and become a very serious (typically fatal) disease called feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). Why this mutation occurs is unknown. The signs of FIP include:

  • intermittent fever

  • extreme lethargy

  • failure to grow in kittens

  • jaundice

  • fluid build-up in the abdomen and/or chest

  • difficulty breathing

  • eye problems

  • seizures

Although FCoV is extremely common, FIP is not. The vast majority of cats that get FCoV will recover uneventfully.

 
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How is coronavirus diagnosed in cats?

We rarely test for FCoV. It’s not that we can’t, it’s just that it’s so common (in both sick and well cats) that a positive result is relatively meaningless.

 

How is coronavirus in cats treated?

There is no specific treatment for FCoV.

Most cases go undetected and the cat recovers completely without needing any treatment.

If FIP develops (and there is no way to prevent this), treatment can be given to help symptoms. As with most viral infections, curative therapy is more elusive.

A 2018 study into a compound called GS-441524 found it was effective in stopping feline coronavirus replication in 10 experimentally infected cats. Further studies have shown GS-441524 is also effective in cats with naturally occurring infection. These studies were small (Feb 2019, 34 cats; March 2020, 4 cats). Not all the cats survived the study duration (12 weeks) and some relapsed in post treatment follow up phase.

Despite the limited evidence, given the typically grim outcome of FIP, GS-44152 was quickly given wonder drug status and a black market has sprung up for both manufacture and purchase. Cat owners (and some vets) have been buying it largely through social media groups. The drug available this way is unregulated and untested – you don’t know what you’re getting and we strongly advise against going down this path.

An alternative is the antiviral drug remdesivir, which is a prodrug of GS-44152. You may have heard of this drug in the context of COVID-19 treatments – it was fairly recently given approval for use in Australia but there’s a lot of uncertainty still as to which human patients it should be given to. There are some clinical trials underway for its use in cats with FIP, and a compounded form is available for clinical use in veterinary patients – but any use in pets is still off-label (ie it has not been approved for this purpose) and experimental.

Remdesivir is given via injection (initially IV then subcutaneous, although the latter is apparently painful and causes fibrosis at injection sites). A 12 week course is around $5000.