A kitten has died after contracting Covid-19 from its owner in one of two cases of human-to-animal transmission identified by scientists.

A study led by the University of Glasgow discovered the cases as part of a Covid-19 screening programme of cats throughout the UK.

Scientists from the university’s Centre for Virus Research (CVR) and School of Veterinary Medicine joined forces for the research, which suggests that both animals were infected by their owners who had been displaying signs of the virus.

The young cat which died, a four month old ragdoll kitten, was taken to the vet in April last year with breathing difficulties and sadly had to be put down.

The other cat, an older Siamese variety, was taken to the vet with mild symptoms and made a full recovery.

The British Veterinary Association Scotland urged pet owners not to panic, but encouraged them to practice good hygiene in a bid to avoid passing anything on to animals.

Kathleen Roberts, president of BVA Scotland, said: “Research is ongoing in terms of animal susceptibility to Sars-CoV-2, but we would emphasise that these findings should not be cause for undue alarm among pet owners and animal keepers.

“There has been a very small number of cases of the virus that causes Covid-19 identified in domestic animals worldwide and it appears likely that the transmission was from infected humans to animals.

“The primary transmission route for the virus has been human to human throughout the pandemic.

“Our advice to all animal owners remains to practise good hygiene, including regular handwashing.”

A post-mortem of the kitten revealed damage to the lungs consistent with a viral pneumonia, and there was also evidence of the Covid-19 infection.

The older cat suffered mildly with a runny nose and conjunctivitis, however the screening programme detected the virus.

Researchers found that the genome sequencing in the virus was very similar to that circulating in humans.

Scientists say the study, published today in the Veterinary Record, and better understanding of animal cases of the virus could become more important as human cases decrease.

Professor Margaret Hosie, lead author of the study, said: “These two cases of human-to-animal transmission, found in the feline population in the UK, demonstrate why it is important that we improve our understanding of animal SARS-CoV-2 infection.

“Currently, animal-to-human transmission represents a relatively low risk to public health in areas where human-to-human transmission remains high.

“However, as human cases decrease, the prospect of transmission among animals becomes increasingly important as a potential source of SARS-CoV-2 reintroduction to humans.

“It is therefore important to improve our understanding of whether exposed animals could play any role in transmission.”

At present, there is no evidence of cat-to-human transmission – it remains unknown if cats with Covid-19 can transmit the virus to other animals or humans.

However, scientists believe the level of human-to-cat transmission is likely to be underestimated as animal testing is limited.

Since the pandemic began there have been reports of cats from Covid-infected households testing positive for the virus in countries around the world, including the USA, France, Spain, Brazil, Russia and Hong Kong.