Iowa Cat Infected With Swine Flu

Veterinary and federal officials announced yesterday, what is believed to be the first case of the H1N1 virus in a feline – a 13-year-old Iowa cat has been found to be infected with the Swine flu virus.

The domestic short-haired cat was reportedly treated last week at Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Ames and has since recovered, officials said. The virus also has been confirmed in two ferrets — one in Oregon and the other in Nebraska — but they died, and has also now been confirmed in pigs from a commercial herd.

The veterinarian who treated the cat, said two of the three people in the cat’s Iowa home had flu-like symptoms before the cat became ill. In terms of symptoms, the cat (which is an indoor cat) reportedly became lethargic, had a loss of appetite and appeared to have trouble breathing.

Officials have said that pet owners should take the same sort of precautions against the spread of swine flu to pets, as they would with humans. There is no swine flu vaccine for pets.