Can swine flu infect cats or dogs?

What people are really asking is, Will my family dog or cat catch the swine flu, this H1N1 strain, and pass it along to ME or MY FAMILY?  Historically, there is no known case of cat/dog to human transmission of the flu and very few cases of another species flu jumping to dogs or cats. 

Here is what reliable news outlets are reporting:

MSNBC reports “no” as of April 29, 2009.

Is there any possibility of this [H1N1] strain crossing into dogs, cats or other pets? If so, are small animals (puppies, kittens) more at risk than adult animals?
—Anonymous

There is no evidence whatsoever of any risk for animals that has come up. The main problem with this is that it’s a virus that seems to have originated in pigs and became capable of infecting human beings. There are flu viruses that preferentially affect cats and dogs, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN says no evidence of it, yet, but it can’t be ruled out without further research.

Q: Can animals, such as dogs or cats, contract the swine flu [H1N1]? If so, can they transfer it to humans?

CNN: There is no evidence that dogs and cats can contract swine flu. Still, this is a new strain of swine flu virus, and investigators can’t rule it out until more tests are done. In the past, the avian H5N1 flu has infected domestic cats and at least one dog in Thailand, according to the scientific literature. In 2004, the equine H3 virus appeared to infect dogs. There have been no reports of dogs or cats spreading the flu to people.

Dr. Janet Tobiassen Crosby, DVM, says “no”.  In fact, her blog on VetMedicine.com has a great explanation of this concern.

There are two types of influenza viruses: Type A and Type B. The Type A viruses are found in humans and many types of animals, usually strains specific to that species. The type B viruses circulate widely among humans¹.

Dogs and cats do have their own versions of influenza viruses. The canine influenza virus is an influenza Type A H3N8 virus, and the feline version is Type A H5N1 influenza virus. (The numbers and letters after the type denote the numbers and types of proteins on the surface of the virus. The letter H stands for hemagglutinin and the letter N stands for neuraminidase.²)