A new study has appeared that both cats and dogs cannot get the coronavirus, but because cats have a strong immune system, they will be subjects for further experimentation for human vaccines.
Even though the numbers of COVID-19 victims are growing to reach one million, especially during flu season, there have not been many cases of pets getting sick. Why is that you ask? Their hair! Cats shed the virus and can give it to other cats. According to James Gorman, NY Times, “If cats can shed the virus, why aren’t they infecting people, which is a theoretical possibility? One reason is that the number of humans who have contracted the virus is so large, and they are the ones giving it to cats.” Because many countries around the world do not normalize cats as house pets and leave them astray, transmission can be maximized, in comparison to the United States which is opposite.
During a recent experiment, scientists inserted the virus into the nasal cavity of both cats and dogs. After, the infected cats were put into close contact with other cats; the results were astonishing. The infected cats were not showing any symptoms of the virus. “Those cats that were infected in the experiment?” “You would never have known,” says Angela M. Bosco-Lauth, researcher at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. This can be a problem because since cats can pass the virus to other cats, this can leave the question; Can wildlife be affected as well? During this experiment, dogs were not valuable subjects because there were different results produced.
The infected cat was immune to the virus that was transmitted by other cats, according to Dr. Bosco- Lauch, but the length of protection is unknown. According to James Gorman, NY Times, “The Colorado State researchers advise keeping cats indoors, particularly if a human in a household has become infected, because they could spread it to other cats. Also, if a person with Covid needs to be admitted to a hospital and has pet cats, Dr. Porter suggested, the cat’s caretakers should know to observe social distancing as they would with a person.”
Although the entire world is in need to find a vaccine for the coronavirus, animal experimentation is very bazar. For many years, well-known businesses selling makeup, cleaning products, and many more have been harming animals by testing their potent products on their skin, eyes, and mouth. Organizations like PETA have stressed their concerns and disapproval with this means of physical abuse to animals. According to PETA, “The abuse that animals suffer at human hands is heartbreaking, sickening, and infuriating. It’s even more so when we realize that the everyday choices we make—such as what we eat for lunch and the kind of shampoo we buy—may be directly supporting some of this abuse. But as hard as it is to think about, we can’t stop animals’ suffering if we simply look the other way and pretend it isn’t happening.”
Despite the horror’s innocent animals in experimental labs face, such as electrocution or being beaten, many scientific discoveries have been made. According to NCBI, “Surgical procedures, pain relievers, psychoactive drugs, medications for blood pressure, insulin, pacemakers, nutrition supplements, organ transplants, treatments for shock trauma and blood diseases—all have been developed and tested in animals before being used in humans. 14 In fact, according to the American Medical Association, ‘Virtually every advance in medical science in the 20th century, from antibiotics and vaccines to antidepressant drugs and organ transplants, has been achieved either directly or indirectly through the use of animals in laboratory experiments.’”
The only question that raises is if more people hear about the use of cats and potentially others animals to find a vaccine for COVID-19 is used, especially organizations for animal welfare, what will be the public opinion? Will it influence the continuation of these studies or will the government pass a law saying that the use of animal testing is necessary?
