London: A pet cat contracted coronavirus from its owners and became the first animal in the United Kingdom to test positive for COVID-19.
"The UK's Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss has confirmed that the virus responsible for COVID-19 has been detected in a pet cat in the UK," said a UK government in a statement.
The infection was confirmed following tests at the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) laboratory in Weybridge on July 22.
"All available evidence suggests that the cat contracted the coronavirus from its owners who had previously tested positive for COVID-19. The cat and its owners have since made a full recovery and there was no transmission to other animals or people in the household," the government said.
Meanwhile, this cat wasn't the first animal in the world to contract the virus. Earlier, two pet cats in New York state had tested positive for COVID-19. A tiger at New York's Bronx Zoo had also tested positive. Reportedly, the tiger had contracted the virus from a caretaker. It was tested after it starting to show signs of illness. Three other tigers and three lions later showed symptoms and tests confirmed they all had the virus.
