“Ayla” is the first cat in Austria to be diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Bregenz. Before all cat owners panic and run to the vet with their animals, be reassured at the beginning: Corona cannot be transmitted from animals to humans (see interview on the right). In the tragic case in Bregenz, the cat “Ayla” was infected by its owner, who was seriously ill with Covid and finally died of it on January 16. The father of the family was only 49 years old. The grief and pain are infinite.
The cat had a fever and was apathetic
After the husband’s death, his wife, Nilgün Cinar, noticed that the beloved cat was also getting worse and worse. She had a high fever, did not eat and was apathetic. She went to see the veterinarian Karl Fürst with the three-year-old animal. When he heard that the entire family was infected with Corona, the alarm bells rang for him. Fürst: “That’s why I took blood and had it analyzed – it was positive.” And further: “I was surprised by the result because I knew that there was still no cat in Austria that had been proven.”
This is also confirmed by Friedrich Schmoll, head of the AGES institute for veterinary medical examinations in Mödling: “A few house cats in Austria have already been examined for the virus if the owners reported that they were ill. So far, unlike in Italy, for example, no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 has been discovered. “
Kitten ›Ayla‹ has completely recovered
The cat recovered from the virus and is now completely healthy again. The daughter of the deceased previous owner has now taken the animal.
Veterinarian Karl Fürst: “Covid cannot be transmitted from animals to humans”
AUSTRIA: How did you come up with the idea of examining a cat for Covid?
Karl Fürst: A lady came to see me at the veterinary clinic with her daughter and said the cat is very badly. Fever, diarrhea, etc. In the course of the conversation, it turned out that the whole family had Corona. That’s why I thought that an infection is also possible in the cat, that it can get corona.
AUSTRIA: What happened then?
Prince: I took blood and had it analyzed. I was surprised by the positive result because I knew that no one had a cat in Austria that had been proven.
AUSTRIA: You had the blood tested in a veterinary laboratory. How did they react to the result there?
Prince: The head of the laboratory called me immediately, she also didn’t know exactly whether the report of a positive cat is subject to the authorities, but in the end she phoned AGES. Then AGES immediately contacted me and asked for all the analyzes.
AUSTRIA: Did the cat have the normal virus or the mutated variant?
Prince: We do not know that, yet. We have just done a sequencing which is now being analyzed.
AUSTRIA: How is the cat now?
Prince: Very good again. When examined 2 weeks ago, the cat was already healthy and had nice antibodies. So the cat had the virus. Has been through it, is healed, and is immune. As with humans, who also make antibodies.
AUSTRIA: Can it be transmitted from cats to humans?
Prince: At the moment it is ruled out according to science. The cat can transmit it from cat to cat, but not from cat to humans. In the second analysis by the laboratory, you can clearly see the virus genome that it is not transferable. This can be seen from the analyzes.
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