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Weekend Column: I Have COVID — And My Cat Is Sneezing

October 14, 2023 | 12:32 PM - Updated on October 15, 2023 | 4:33 PM
in COLUMNS
13
Photograph by Andrea Sachs

By Andrea Sachs

​I’ll admit it. By the end, I was rather vain about my status as a NOVID, a person who has never had COVID. Sure, I’d paid a high price for that distinction, eschewing social gatherings and Broadway plays long after most Manhattanites had returned. But because of health concerns and the fact that I was no longer a twentysomething (okay, Class of ’70), I’d chosen a particularly cautious route.​

I hadn’t been a naive NOVID, though. For three-and-a-half years (after 29 at Time magazine), I had been the editor of “The Insider,” a weekly digital pandemic publication I founded in 2020. Over that time, more than a hundred of us journalists and other eager scribes had covered the waterfront (viral front?), writing about everything from super–spreader weddings in New Jersey to fraternity houses in Nebraska flattened by contagion. I had interviewed dozens of people about their Covid experiences, some from their sickbeds. I may have been a NOVID, but my pandemic pedigree was nothing to sniff (sniffle?) at.

We shuttered the publication at the end of July, believing, like my giddy neighbors on the Upper West Side, that the pandemic was behind us. In the same spirit of self-congratulation that had led me to award myself regal status because I had never had COVID, I almost believed that our last issue marked the official end of the pandemic. Throwing off my mask, like the rest of the revelers on Columbus Avenue, I finally ate inside of restaurants with gusto.

Well, karma bites, my friend. After sneezing a bit on Tuesday [October 3] and testing negative, I woke up on Wednesday with a raw sore throat. I tested again. This time, the second line glowed bright red. Caught! My carefree maskless days had come to a grinding halt.

I paid penance for my arrogance. Starting on Wednesday, I proceeded to go through the symptoms I had heard described by so many Insider interviewees. Extreme fatigue. Coughing. Runny nose. Food tasted crummy and I felt crummier. But thanks to the myriad vaccines I had taken (God bless Moderna!), it was a relatively soft landing.

Even though I am now still testing positive after 10 days, the illness is clearly receding. The finish line is in sight. Tonight, I took my place on the living-room couch, and with the rest of the MSNBC audience watched the Israeli disaster unfold.

“Achoo!”

I live alone, so I was startled to hear a sneeze from someone other than myself. I looked around, and my two rescued cats, Jimmy and Abby, were peaceful. I must have imagined it.

Ten minutes passed. “Achoo!”

This time, I saw who was sneezing. It was Abby, my Abyssinian-tabby mix. She’s petite and quite the princess. The sound was almost dainty. This was not a hairball. It was definitely a sneeze. OMG! This can’t be happening! Had I given Abby Covid?

I immediately called Dr. Z, Abby’s pricy at-home vet. Yes, Dr. Z makes house visits to pets all over New York City. This is a place where you can have anything your heart desires delivered like a pizza if you’re willing to pony up the dough. But Dr. Z must have been visiting Fido or Fluffy on the East Side, because I didn’t hear back from him immediately.

After checking in with Abby, who now seemed to be breathing a little more heavily (or was I suffering from Feline Munchausen by Proxy?), I proceeded to my computer. Just as I feared. On the CDC site, it said that “The virus that causes Covid-19 can spread from people to animals during close contact. Pets worldwide, including cats and dogs, have been infected with the virus that causes Covid-19, mostly after close contact with people with Covid-19.”

Well, you try not having close contact with two hungry, hyperactive cats in a Manhattan apartment. Besides, any pet owner who doesn’t have close contact with their pet is a hard-hearted so-and-so. But even for us animal lovers, there are limits. The CDC website instructed, “Do not put masks on pets.” Not likely, Louise.

Have I mentioned that Abby and Jimmy are inseparable? They’re not litter mates, but they’re kindred spirits who spend the day toddling around after each other or spooning. If Abby is sneezing now, Jimmy is just waiting his turn.

I began compulsively scrolling again. On the Mayo Clinic website, there was a reassuring passage. “Of the small number of dogs and cats confirmed to have the virus that causes COVID-19, some didn’t show any signs of illness. Most of the pets that did become ill had mild symptoms and could be cared for at home. Pets have very rarely become seriously ill.”

No house visit by Dr. Z (fear of contagion?). So, Abby and I are quarantining together. She’s still sneezing, but less frequently. Thank goodness, Jimmy has no symptoms, but I am monitoring him carefully. I’m beginning to think we closed “The Insider” prematurely. I have to dig up my mask and remember not to share it with my furry roommates.

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13 Comments
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Ashley
Ashley
1 year ago

Andrea, I was also a “novid” until I caught it two weeks ago. I wore a mask around my cats initially but one of them has begun sneezing as well. Solidarity, and I hope we all feel better soon!

6
Reply
Steve UWS
Steve UWS
1 year ago

Our cats slept through the first round of COVID but do sneeze at other times, sometimes quite loudly. Got my fifth booster 2 weeks ago. Take care of yourself. You’ll be OK.

2
Reply
Doe
Doe
1 year ago

Just wonderful. More, more!

1
Reply
Robin
Robin
1 year ago

I read ‘somewhere’ that it’s likely that all of us have had COVID but that some of us were asymptomatic. Who knows??
Seems that the only conceivable way to remain a NOVID if that’s even possible, is to basically live a VERY restrictive pandemic lifestyle.
Andrea, you’re very talented and your writing is extremely entertaining. Hope you and your feline family feel better very soon.

6
Reply
ellen
ellen
1 year ago

Andrea, at least your humor is contagious! Glad that you took such good care of yourself while getting all those boosters, and now are having a mild case. Let those well-cared for cuties stay close to you.

8
Reply
Bea
Bea
1 year ago

Your article was very well written and enjoyable. Feel better soon.

4
Reply
Lisa
Lisa
1 year ago

There’s definitely a Covid surge going on right now on the UWS – I tested positive on Friday the 13th.

3
Reply
Sharon Jaffe
Sharon Jaffe
1 year ago

Beautiful pillows, quilt, and cats!
Wonderful writing.

4
Reply
Mandy W
Mandy W
1 year ago

Wonderful humor! Karma does bite. How does a detail conscious pandemic tracker miss the significance of helpful page I think was cross posted here at WSR from The City – https://projects.thecity.nyc/2020_03_covid-19-tracker/

That wastewater data tells a true tale. When UWS was grey on the map, I (who have no scientific sample) knew no one with Covid. A week or so after the map turned red around where I circulate, I knew three. Kids going back to school, spreading to teachers, and thence to everyone everyone comes home to, get a lot of credit. Thank goodness for vaccines. If you wear your masks on subways and buses, in crowded shops, and in theaters, you may not bring it home to someone whose health you care about.

2
Reply
Peter
Peter
1 year ago
Reply to  Mandy W

Masks don’t work and neither do these ‘vaccines’. Do some research on the actual science not the political science

1
Reply
Elizabeth Sachs
Elizabeth Sachs
1 year ago

I was also getting cocky about my NOVID status but on Saturday morning tested positive…

2
Reply
Peter
Peter
1 year ago

Typical WSR pro big pharma propaganda. Is this a sponsored post?

1
Reply
Naomi
Naomi
1 year ago

Andrea, sorry you inevitably joined the Covid community! And kudos on your story!
Excellent, humorous and relatable column, and your kitties look mahvelous!

1
Reply

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