A cat in Iowa caught H1N1 from his owner. CBS 21 News is your station for Swine Flu answers and we found out how you can keep your furry friend from getting sick.
At The Harrisburg Area Humane Society, there are 300 cats. Many of the things volunteers and workers practice there, you can do at home to protect your cat.
" Signs (of swine flu) you can detect in a cat; they can be lethargic, less likely to eat, drink, may show signs of upper respiratory issues, like sneezing and coughing," said Dr. Brett Sponseller, diagnosed cat in Iowa with H1N1.
Dr. Brett Sponseller in Iowa diagnosed and treated the very first cat known to have H1N1. The 13 year old male cat , that is an orange Tabby, came in with breathing problems.
" We put the cat on antibiotics, because we were concerned about secondary bacterial infection. Otherwise, (the cat's treatment was) like good old chicken soup, a lot of TLC on the owners part," said Dr. Sponseller.
This latest cat case of Swine Flu in Iowa has local animal shelters on high alert.
"With this many animals in a building its important, to keep disease from spreading, because it can spread like wildfire," said Kelly Hitz, Harrisburg Area Humane Society, public relations director.
To keep it from spreading, they do things like; ask people not to touch the animals, use hand sanitizers and wash hands after handling each animal and clean the cages with special disinfectant.
We now know humans can spread it to cats, but can it be the other way around? Dr. Sponseller says it's not likely cats can give humans the Swine Flu and right now there are no proven cases of that happening.
The Pennsylvania Health Department says there have been no confirmed cases of cats having H1N1 in PA.
Veterinarians say the virus has also been confirmed in two ferrets, one in Oregon and the other in Nebraska. One died. One recovered
