Picture of cat on leash with mask in China to protect against coronavirus

Cat on leash with mask in China to protect against coronavirus. Photo in public domain.

What do you think of this? Personally, I can’t agree with it for a couple of reasons at least. Firstly, masks over faces do not effectively protect the wearer from contracting coronavirus. That’s been well established because the disease is transferred by ingesting infected water droplets through the mouth and these masks are not 100% water droplet tight. Masks help to stop the wearer infecting others. If that is the reason behind this then I’d understand but there is no evidence that cats and dogs can get this novel coronavirus and therefore neither can they spread it.

And cats will not take kindly to a mask on their face. I don’t think it will work for long. I’d be surprised if this cat did not try and get it off all the time it was on. I’d be pretty certain that this cat is no longer wearing this mask and that the cat’s guardian, who is also wearing a mask, has given up on the idea. It is unusual to see a cat on a leash (a skimpy leash) in China particularly under these emergency circumstances. I am sure she knows what she is doing but is the cat safe? I have heard some awful stories about cats and dogs because of the panic from the belief that they spread the disease.