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With the Swine Flu going around, we’re all a little concerned about our chances of catching it and even our pet’s chances of coming down with this scary sounding flu.  Initially doctors were saying that its unlikely pets could come down with H1N1, but a recent case of the flu where human members of a household gave the virus to their cat seems to be casting this opinion in doubt.

A family in Iowa recently came down with flu-like symptoms and were tested positive for H1N1.  The cat later showed signs of the flu and on November 2^nd, a test proved that the cat caught the virus.  These results show for certain that cats can come down with H1N1.  In addition to this, it also indicates that humans can spread the disease to animals because the cat came down with the flu after it’s human family.

There have also been cases reported that indicate pet ferrets are able to catch the flu from people too.  Since these cases came to light most everyone involved has recovered, with only one fatality, a pet ferret.

You can take precautions to protect your pets and yourself from cross contamination of this flu.  Make sure to wash your hands frequently, and before and after handling your pet, their food and taking them for a walk.  If you get sick, don’t let your dog come sleep on your bed and try to avoid petting them or cuddling them too much (although this can be very comforting, you risk making them sick.)  Also, don’t touch your face and don’t cuddle or kiss your pet’s faces either!

Despite this disheartening news, there still isn’t any evidence that H1N1 can infect dogs, or that pets have made people sick with the flu or that the flu can be transmitted between different pets.

Source: http://consults.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/can-pets-get-swine-flu/