Now that there's a confirmed case of H1N1 in a cat many local cat owners are wondering whether they have reason to worry.

On Wednesday TV-6 reported that a 13-year old indoor cat in Iowa is the first known feline case of this flu.

As soon as local pet owners heard the H1N1 flu had hit a feline calls started coming in to local veterinarians.

"They do sound very concerned, but it's our job just to help them through it," Sara Clasen of Glenroads Veterinary Clinic in Bettendorf said.

Local veterinarian Dr. Scott Sandeman says he was surprised when he heard about the Iowa cat case and it was not something he wanted to hear.

"It's a serious disease and we don't want any complicating factors in deciding what the risks are for people as well as pets," Dr. Sandeman said.

Still, he says pet owners should not panic.

"We don't have any evidence whatsoever to suggest your pet can give you the disease. Right now all we know it that the cat contracted it from the owners. Hopefully this is an isolated case," Sandeman explained.

But in case it's not an isolated case, Dr. Sandeman says if you have H1N1--- just to be safe--- don't snuggle up to your cat.

If you're worried your cat might have H1N1, Dr. Sandeman says, "remember cats are not known to be big coughers per se, but if you notice difficult breathing or loss of appetite, certainly anything that would indicate a nasal discharge or runny eyes, those might be some signs."

Might is the key word. Dr. Sandeman says don't assume it's H1N1 when it comes to your cat because a number of respiratory illnesses mimic the virus.

There are no known cases of H1N1 in dogs, but there are two in ferrets-- one in Oregon and one in Nebraska. The ferrets died. The Iowa cat recovered.