Neighbours stroked my cat.

[RobynSH]

Just looked out the window and seen the neighbours kids stroking our cat.

How/what would you do about the cats fur at this time to clean it?

@RobynSH I'm totally with you. My neighbours who are all +70 all love my cat and tell me they stroke it whenever they catch me in the garden!!! I'm wondering if they have a death wish or just not making the link that I I stroke her and have it then they stroke her half an hour later then yes potentially there must be a chance it could transmit. You could just keep your cat in with litter trays if your very worried about it... With cats roaming you never really know where they've been, especially if they're nosey parkers and go into people's homes if allowed!!! So YADNBU.

Hey OP,
I understand that you are very anxious, but it is extremely unlikely that the virus would be transmitted via someone stroking your cat. Please don't regard your cat as a mode of transmission, your doorbell or door handle is likely to be more conducive to spreading the virus.

@FlamingoAndJohn it can live 24hrs on cardboard

They found it hard to test on cardboard. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000glnw

Weird, university scientists didn't. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/03/200320192755.htm

"The study suggests that people may acquire the coronavirus through the air and after touching contaminated objects. Scientists discovered the virus is detectable for up to three hours in aerosols, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel."

I feel so sorry for the poor sod who had the task to discover just how long the virus survives on a cat.

We're told to put shopping that comes in packaging into quarantine for 3 days or clean the packaging.

I watch the press conference every day and that's the first I've heard of that. What's the source?

Put your shopping in 3 day quarantine???
Somehow we are all still alive 🙄

So sorry about your circumstances Robyn.

I don’t know: I have heard from various sources that hard surfaces are the real problem and the virus struggles on soft surfaces like fabrics and hair.

Probably for your peace of mind, keep him/her in now if you have a tray and don’t touch him for a couple of hours for now.

Do hope things improve for you, somehow 😊

Yes, how do you do that with perishables?

Do you have a quarantine fridge for the strawberries?

There are some seriously shitty comments on here, including the piss taking.

It's not unreasonable to wonder if a cat could bring Covid into your house. It certainly doesn't warrant the nasty response from @BronwenFrideswide.

OP, my DDs have assistance dogs and they hate that people keep touching them. It's never a good thing to do but it feels even worse now, even if the virus won't live long on them. A couple of minutes could be long enough.

People need to start being kinder.

chardonnay don't be silly, the strawberries go in Milton

Do you have a quarantine fridge for the strawberries?

I did hear of someone who is peeling them . Worlds gone mad, but we knew that already.

We have to be very careful too, 3 people in vulnerable groups.
I’m not, so I’ve been putting on the marigolds, opening the food delivery packs on the doorstep and decanting the fresh stuff from the pack it came in into our own bags and Tupperware. I bag up the packaging and put it straight into the outside bin, then wash the gloves and my hands before bringing the newly packaged stuff indoors. Only takes 10 minutes - got plenty of time just now 😁 -and gives everyone peace of mind.

Yet more piss taking.

Here's advice from Harvard - maybe you can take the piss out of them instead.

Or you could take 5 minutes to ensure there's no virus on what you're bringing into your home...

www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/2020/03/25/food-safety-nutrition-and-wellness-during-covid-19/

"the easiest way to minimize risk of infection from foods purchased at a store or delivered to your home is just let it sit in an out-of-the way place for three days"

"For fresh produce that will not be cooked before eating, wash thoroughly under running water"

www.livescience.com/cat-infected-covid-19-from-owner.html?fbclid=IwAR35GxOVfbC0BSaW3sEGsIa8WEg9g_L5hbmoFqw3J-VtdujMxhDZkp6UhB4