Cage size, movement in and out of housing during daily care, and other environmental and population health risk factors for feline upper respiratory disease in nine North American animal shelters.

Denae C Wagner,Philip H Kass,Kate F Hurley,Ulrike Gertrud Munderloh

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0190140

Denae C Wagner, Philip H Kass + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190140

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Journal: PloS one	Publication Date: Jan 2, 2018
Citations: 51	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of California, Davis

Abstract

Upper respiratory infection (URI) is not an inevitable consequence of sheltering homeless cats. This study documents variation in risk of URI between nine North American shelters; determines whether this reflects variation in pathogen frequency on intake or differences in transmission and expression of disease; and identifies modifiable environmental and group health factors linked to risk for URI. This study demonstrated that although periodic introduction of pathogens into shelter populations may be inevitable, disease resulting from those pathogens is not. Housing and care of cats, particularly during their first week of stay in an animal shelter environment, significantly affects the rate of upper respiratory infection.

Highlights

Feline upper respiratory infection (URI) has been described as one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality for cats in North American animal shelters [1]
The pathogens implicated in feline URI include feline herpesvirus (FHV-1) and feline calicivirus (FCV) as the most common primary causes, as well as Mycoplasma spp., Chlamydophila felis, and Bordetella bronchiseptica [6,7,8,9,10]
Nine North American animal shelters participated in the study

Summary

Introduction

Feline upper respiratory infection (URI) has been described as one of the most important causes of morbidity and mortality for cats in North American animal shelters [1]. In addition to being a common reason for euthanasia[2], URI can have acute and chronic sequelae for feline health. Even at those shelters that have the wherewithal for treatment, caring for sick animals consumes scarce shelter resources. With reported incidence as high as 30% [2, 3], these costs may be substantial In this context, prevention of disease is critical; yet, in spite of significant investment in improved shelter facilities and extensive efforts at management [4], feline URI remains one of the most significant disease concerns for shelter managers [5].

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