Are furry friends safe from H1N1?

With a Nebraska family mourning the loss of its pet ferret and an Iowa family nursing its cat back to health, one can’t help but wonder — is any creature safe from H1N1?

The answer, as far as furry friends go, is no.

But don’t bundle up Spot and Snowball and cart them off to get flu shots. Transmission of H1N1 from people to pets is rare, veterinarians say.

“It’s not a cause for panic,” said Dr. Kimberly May, a veterinarian with the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Traditionally, flu viruses weren’t believed to jump species, May said, although the avian flu and this new flu strain are changing some of the rules.

The fact that H1N1 has been detected in an Iowa cat as well as ferrets in Nebraska and Oregon highlights its unpredictable nature, she said.

To keep pets well, owners who are sick with flu-like symptoms should give pets the same courtesy they provide family members. Avoid snuggling on the couch, sleeping in the same bed and showing physical affection to your pets.

“If you’re sick, your animal shouldn’t be licking you on the mouth, face or nose. It’s not good hygiene normally, but it’s worse when you’re sick,” May said. Also, avoid sneezing and breathing directly on your pets.

Family interaction likely is what led to the flu in the Iowa cat, said Dr. Brett Sponseller, one of the veterinarians who treated the cat at Iowa State University.

“He’s a very social cat,” Sponseller said. “Just a nice, affectionate indoor cat.”

Because the cat lived strictly indoors and rarely encountered people who didn’t live in the home, the flu-like symptoms that afflicted family members had to be considered when the animal fell ill, he said.

It wasn’t the first thing the veterinarians looked for when the cat was observed to be lethargic, with a poor appetite and an increased respiratory rate. But a test of the cat’s airways ruled out most other bacterial, parasitic or allergic causes, Sponseller said.

That was when they decided to test for H1N1.

The cat’s illness is believed to be rare, but since news of it broke, Sponseller has received e-mails from people around the country whose pets had flu-like symptoms while they were sick with H1N1.

“I’m not sure that anyone has really looked at it,” he said.

Outside of the ferret in Hastings, Neb., which died after suffering flu symptoms, there haven’t been reported instances of H1N1 in animals in Nebraska — either pets or livestock, said Dr. Dennis Hughes, the state veterinarian.

The few reported cases nationally haven’t caused a panic among animal care providers. “We sure aren’t laying awake at night worrying about it,” Hughes said.

If people are worrying about getting H1N1 from their pets, they shouldn’t. While the possibility can’t be ruled out, there’s no evidence that it can be passed that way, said Dr. Annette Bredthauer, public health veterinarian for Nebraska.

“We never say never, but at this time, it doesn’t appear to be a concern,” said Bredthauer.

For now, people are a bigger danger to their pets, however small the chance that Spot or Snowball might come down with the flu.

So if you have been sick with flu-like symptoms and your pet begins to display signs of illness, call your vet.

“I would just encourage people to consider that influenza is a possibility,” Sponseller said.

Contact the writer:

444-1310, elizabeth.ahlin@owh.com