Newsday Tuesday – Outdoor Cat Safety During the Pandemic

If you have an indoor/outdoor cat, you could be in greater danger of being infected by the corona virus—yes, through your cat. I’m not suggesting that your cat could catch the virus and transmit it to you—not in the usual sense. What I’m concerned about is that someone with the infection might invite your cat inside or into their yard and pet her. When she comes home for supper, she could carry those droplets you keep hearing about and infect your entire household.

What to do? Maybe get into the habit of wiping her down with a damp towel or a pet-safe disinfectant wipe when she returns home. (There are a variety of disinfectant wipes designed for cats—order some today.)

If you let your cat outside for even part of the day, you don’t know for sure where she goes. You may think you do, but you could be dead wrong. Mama always thought her cat, Smokey, stayed in the yard. He was always in the yard when she looked for him. If he did wander, he wasn’t gone for long. And when she couldn’t find him, he was usually located in the garage taking a nap. When she heard from two neighbors that he often visited them, she was stunned. One of them would even invite him inside to visit. You don’t want that to happen these days.

The best remedy would be to turn your cat into an inside-only cat. At least until it’s safe out there. It’s something to consider.

And for those of you with indoor kitties, if you have a visitor, or a delivery, do not let them pet your cat. You’ve heard that the infection can last on certain surfaces for long periods of time. Evidently they don’t believe the corona virus can live on fur for long, but it’s still a good practice to be safe.

 

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