A new study that claims cats can get infected by coronavirus has prompted the World Health Organisation (WHO) to probe further.
According to the study, published on the website of the journal Science, cats are vulnerable to the virus, but dogs, chickens and ducks are not.
Its aim was to identify animals that can be used to test experimental vaccines to fight COVID-19.
Barring a few reported infections in cats and dogs, there isn't enough evidence to prove that pets can be carriers.
The WHO said it will take a closer look at transmission of the virus between humans and pets, and urged people not to retaliate against animals over the outbreak.
"They're beings in their own right and they deserve to be treated with kindness and respect. They are victims like the rest of us," said WHO's top emergencies expert Mike Ryan.
SARS-CoV-2, the scientific term for the virus that causes COVID-19, is believed to have spread from bats to humans.
Israel is poised to send troops into Rafah, the Gazan city it sees as the last bastion of Hamas, Israeli media reported on Wednesday, saying preparations were under way to evacuate war-displaced Palestinian civilians who have been sheltering there.
A Russian court on Wednesday ordered one of Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu's deputies be kept in custody on suspicion of taking bribes, the highest-profile corruption case since President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022.
Former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, a senior figure in the country's ruling party, met with Donald Trump on Tuesday, becoming the latest US ally seeking to establish ties with the Republican presidential candidate.
Russian missiles damaged residential buildings and injured six people in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, early on Wednesday, Governor Oleh Synehubov said on Telegram.
Five migrants died in an attempt to cross the English Channel from France to Britain in an overcrowded small boat on Tuesday, hours after Britain passed a bill to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda in a move to deter the dangerous journeys.