High SARS-CoV-2 Exposure in Feline Residents of a Cat Café in Texas, United States, 2021–2022
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Congregate animal settings can serve as foci for increased transmission of pathogens, including zoonoses. Domestic cats have been shown to be reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2 but the public health importance of infected cats has not yet been determined. A population of indoor-only residential cats at a cat cafè in central Texas with high level of human interaction was evaluated for infection with SARS-CoV-2 in a longitudinal study in 2021-2022. Among 25 cats, none were qRT-PCR-positive, while 50% harbored SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies, including one that remained seropositive for >8 months. The high level of human exposure in this unique congregate cat setting- in which dozens of new visitors interact with the cats every day- likely facilitated the hu-man-to-cat transmission of SARS-CoV-2 that led to a 50% infection prevalence in cats. This work was conducted when Delta and Omicron variants predominated. Given feline susceptibility to infection and shedding of virus may vary across different viral variants, veterinary surveillance may be an important component of veterinary and human health risk assessments.