Scientists say a cat which had to be put down in Spain showed signs of Covid-19 but did not die from the deadly virus.
This is the first case of its kind in the country where more than 26,000 people have now died from the virus.
Researchers from the Animal Health Research Centre in Barcelona carried out tests on the animal after it had to be put down because of heart failure.
The family of the pet from Catalonia had several members suffering from coronavirus and were worried about the cat so took it to the vet.
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It showed signs of respiratory difficulties, very few platelets and heart failure. The vet decided to put it down but sent the body away for anaylsis.
Researchers looked at several organs for SARS-CoV-2 and found it only in two: the nasal cavity and a lymph node near the intestine. The amount was very low.
According to the analysis, released today by Cresa, the cat suffered from a heart disease known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that has a genetic origin and can cause sudden death.
None of the lesions found in the animal were compatible with a coronavirus infection, meaning the virus had nothing to do with its state of health, veterinarians say.
The cat was four years old and was called Negrito. Those responsible for the work have not given more details of the animal's owners to protect their privacy.
"This only shows that sometimes in very isolated cases, cats can be collateral victims of the pandemic but there is very little probability that they can infect people," said Nàtalia Majó, director of Cresa, which is part of the Institute of Research and Technology.
This would be the sixth cat infected with coronavirus, whose transmission in humans already leads to 3.7 million infections and more than 260,000 deaths.
Barely a handful of infected animals have been registered, including two dogs, a tigress from the New York Zoo and five other cats: two in Hong Kong, one in Belgium, one in New York and a new case found Monday in France.
