COLUMBIA – After a tiger at the Bronx Zoo tested positive for COVID-19, some pet owners wonder if cats and dogs can transmit the disease. Almost no animals have tested positive for the novel coronavirus. “There’s an awful lot that we are still learning about the virus,” Leah Cohn said. Cohn is a professor of small animal internal medicine at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. “We have not seen a rise in respiratory diseases or infections in dogs and cats, which is an encouraging sign that the virus is not making our pets sick,” Cohn said. While there have been few instances of humans transmitting the virus to animals, no evidence to date suggests domestic animals can infect humans. Out of an abundance of caution, Cohn recommended pet owners who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 to avoid snuggling closely with their pets and to call a veterinarian if their pet experiences severe coughing, lethargy or diarrhea. “Research has shown that companion animals offer us…