Cats Getting Dog Flu, The Truth – No Need to Panic

Dogs getting the cat flu, really? I try to balance here, telling the truth, best I can, about what happened at the Humane Society of Calumet Area in Highland, IN. However, truly, there’s no reason to panic.

Listen HERE, as Brian Noonan at WTMJ radio in Milwaukee asks great questions:

If you want to protect your cat from the dog flu….

1. Don’t sweat it – thousands of cats have been exposed to the canine influenza virus (strain H3N2), and so far – aside from these shelter cats – only one cat in the U.S. has been identified positively with the dog flu.
2. If there are any cats most at risk – if there even is a risk – which is unlikely…..it’s veterinarians and technicians who are around sick dogs, also shelter workers and people who work in grooming or boarding facilities who could (theoretically) deliver the virus to their cats at home. Again, this has been going on a year – thousands of cats have been exposed, and again, only one known positive before these shelter cats.

3. MOST important – vaccinate your dog(s) for H3N2. Most cats are indoors these days, so the concern (though the validity of the concerns seems questionable) is that sick dogs can spread he flu to the household cat(s). That is FAR less likely to happen if the dog(s) are vaccinated for H3N2. Speak to your veterinarian anyway about protecting your dog – even if you don’t have cats in the house. Who wants a sick dog? And some dogs actually get pretty sick, and a small number have died. Small number, yes. But data doesn’t matter if it’s your dog.

More on cats getting the dog flu.

Dr, Sandra Newbury, director Shelter Medicine at University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, Madison offers FAQ’s