URGENT Advisory: Coronavirus and Companion Animals

PETA Offers Tips on Caring for Cats and Dogs During COVID-19 Quarantines

London – Although experts from the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and elsewhere agree that cats and dogs are not at risk of getting COVID­-19 nor transmitting it to humans, PETA is offering information about the best ways to keep animal companions and their guardians safe and healthy during this unprecedented outbreak.

  • Never put face masks on animals, as they can cause breathing difficulties.
  • Allow animals to move about your home normally – don’t cage or crate them.
  • People who are sick or under medical attention for COVID-19 should avoid close contact with animals and have another member of their household care for animals so as not to get the virus on their fur. The coronavirus can be left on animals’ fur, just as it can remain on a doorknob, a handrail, another human hand, or any other surface that an infected person has touched.
  • Don’t stockpile unnecessarily – as this could result in shortages for others – but do plan ahead and ensure you have adequate food and medicine, if needed, for your companion animals (approximately two to three weeks’ worth).
  • Assist neighbours who may not be able to shop for their companion animals and donate companion-animal food to food banks.

“Our dogs and cats rely on us to take care of them year-round, and especially during times of crisis,” says PETA Director Elisa Allen. “PETA is asking everyone to ensure that their animals are still getting healthy food, plenty of exercise, and lots of love.”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way” – opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk

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4 thoughts on “URGENT Advisory: Coronavirus and Companion Animals

  1. Léa says:

    Excellent advice. I’m also checking in with our loca SPA’S to see if their needs have increased as more and more find themselves unable to provide for and care for their trusted companions.

    • Lauren says:

      No symptoms for me or my husband or our cats. Our Congresswoman called me, of all people, and we had a long chat about the coronovirus. It’s a horrible and sometimes fatal disease. Research needs to be done. I have a Master’s degree in Public Health, but coronovirus wasn’t on the docket in the 70’s. We continue to follow directions from our U.S. Health and Human Services Department. Follow medical protocols and live!

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