Shelter Cats Research Articles

Effects of transdermal mirtazapine and oral gabapentin as pre-veterinary visit pharmaceuticals for shelter cats

Humane medical handling of fearful felines in the shelter is a challenge for staff. Gabapentin has entered into clinical use to attenuate fear and anxiety in cats during handling, but restraint for pilling can be dangerous for the handler and contribute to fear responses in the cat. Administering pre-veterinary visit pharmaceuticals to cats with minimal stress remains elusive. Transdermal medications, which require minimal handling, may improve compliance. While no transdermal anxiolytics have shown a sufficient pharmacodynamic effect in cats, transdermal mirtazapine has entered into use for appetite stimulation. This double-blinded, placebo-controlled study assessed (1) the effect of transdermal mirtazapine on the amount of gabapentin-laced food ingested, and (2) the effect of gabapentin on signs of fear and anxiety in cats when handled for examination. To test this, 94 healthy shelter cats were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups. Data collected included the amount of food consumed, estimated gabapentin dose consumed where applicable, and physiologic and behavioral parameters during examination. Cats pre-treated with transdermal placebo consumed significantly less gabapentin-laced food than cats pre-treated with transdermal mirtazapine. While there was a significant inverse relationship between estimated gabapentin dose consumed and heart rate and respiratory rate, the addition of transdermal mirtazapine counteracted these effects. No other significant relationships were found between treatments and the remaining measurements. While pre-treatment transdermal mirtazapine allowed for easier administration of gabapentin, its stimulating effects may have counteracted gabapentin’s anxiolytic effects. Future research should investigate reliable, minimally stressful methods for administering pre-veterinary visit pharmaceuticals to shelter cats.

Piloting a criterion-based and in-cage behavioural monitoring approach in assessing the sociality of shelter cats towards humans

The suitability of rehoming sheltered cats hinges on their sociality towards humans. However, the socialisation history of these cats is often unknown. While a structured and validated assessment is available, it requires considerable time. Here we pilot a criterion-based assessment as a quicker alternative while exploring the basis for an automated assessment via monitoring in-cage behaviours, in the absence of an observer. Supposing our criterion works in evaluating the sociality of sheltered cats, the behavioural progression exhibited during the assessment will differ between cats that reached the criterion and those that did not. Similarly, should in-cage behaviour be able to differentiate between more and less socialised cats, we would expect in-cage behavioural transitions to differ between cats that reached the criterion and individuals that did not. In our investigations, we presented two modified assays for five days to 16 newly sheltered cats, noting if individuals reach the criterion while recording their behaviours. To avoid the carryover effect, in-cage behaviours were recorded before each assay. Next, we identified the significant behavioural transitions using sequential analysis for responses elicited during the assays and when cats were in their respective cages. Subsequently, we used PERMANOVA to compare the behavioural transitions between cats that reached the criterion and those that did not. Corresponding to the comparison between more and less socialised cats, cats that reached the criterion displayed more behaviours and these were distinct from individuals that failed (P value = 0.019). Likewise, we found in-cage behaviours to be distinct between cats that reached the criterion and those that failed (P value = 0.001). Despite the need for further validation and consideration of the likely effect of shelter stress, our findings seemingly point to the criterion-based assessment as a quicker alternative. Furthermore, our results propound the possibility of automating sociality assessment through the monitoring of in-cage behaviours using artificial intelligence.

Quantification of a shelter cat population: Trends in intake, length of stay and outcome data of cats in seven Dutch shelters between 2006 and 2021.

Shelter metrics can be used by shelters for self-assessment to optimise the health of their animal population and to identify risk factors for disease outbreaks. However, there is a need for a wider scope of these shelter metrics, as evidenced by the interest from shelters in the benchmarking of shelter progress and the development of national best practices. For the first time, Dutch shelter data were used retrospectively to signal trends using potentially reliable metrics for the analysis of shelter data. The aims of this study were to apply relevant metrics describing the different phases of shelter management for shelter cats (i.e., intake, stay and outcome) and a retrospective analysis of shelter data over the period between 2006 and 2021. Seven of the approximately 120 Dutch animal shelters participated in this study. Quantitative data on the intake of more than 74,000 shelter cats (e.g., stray cats, cats surrendered by their owners and cats obtained from other sources) and their outcomes (i.e., cats rehomed, returned to their owners, deceased, or otherwise lost) have been analysed. Metrics such as rehoming rate, return to owner rate, rates for mortality and euthanasia, length of stay and risk-based live release rate were determined. The main findings of the study during this 16-year period were that, over time, the number of cats per 1000 residents admitted to Dutch shelters was reduced by 39%, the number of feline euthanasia cases decreased by approximately 50%, the length of stay showed a reducing trend, while the return to owner and the risk-based live release rate increased. The shelter metrics examined in this study could be helpful in monitoring and evaluating the management, consequent health, and well-being of cats in shelters and eventually measuring progress of shelters both in the Netherlands and at a European level.

Hepatozoon species infecting domestic cats from countries of the Mediterranean basin

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are caused by pathogens of human and veterinary concern representing a major public health issue worldwide. Although feline medicine has progressed much in the recent decades, data on feline TBDs (FeTBDs) remain scant. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of apicomplexan parasite infections, associated risk factors and clinical-hematological abnormalities in domestic feline populations from countries of the Mediterranean basin. Blood and serum samples from cats (n = 600) living in France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Portugal and Spain were collected along with animal data (i.e., age, sex, breed, housing conditions and geographical origin), clinical signs and laboratory blood test parameters. Cats were grouped according to their age as kitten (up to one year), young (between one and six years), mature (between seven and ten years) and senior (older than ten years). Blood samples were tested for Hepatozoon spp. and piroplasmids by conventional PCR targeting 18S rRNA gene. The overall prevalence of Hepatozoon spp. infection was 14.5%, being significantly higher in cats from Greece (30%) and Portugal (23%), followed by Spain (15%), Israel (15%) and France (4%). Cats from Italy scored negative. Hepatozoon felis was identified in 86 animals, with three different sequence types and H. silvestris was detected in one shelter cat from Portugal. No piroplasmid DNA was amplified. The risk of Hepatozoon spp. infection was related to feline geographical provenience, housing condition and age. No statistical correlation was reported with any clinical signs, while increased alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity was the only laboratory abnormality significantly associated (p = 0.03) with the infection. Data suggest a high circulation of H. felis, and only occasionally of H. silvestris, within domestic feline populations in the Mediterranean basin, mainly in shelter or free roaming and young cats with asymptomatic or subclinical infection.

AA-amyloidosis in cats (Felis catus) housed in shelters.

Systemic AA-amyloidosis is a protein-misfolding disease characterized by fibril deposition of serum amyloid-A protein (SAA) in several organs in humans and many animal species. Fibril deposits originate from abnormally high serum levels of SAA during chronic inflammation. A high prevalence of AA-amyloidosis has been reported in captive cheetahs and a horizontal transmission has been proposed. In domestic cats, AA-amyloidosis has been mainly described in predisposed breeds but only rarely reported in domestic short-hair cats. Aims of the study were to determine AA-amyloidosis prevalence in dead shelter cats. Liver, kidney, spleen and bile were collected at death in cats from 3 shelters. AA-amyloidosis was scored. Shedding of amyloid fibrils was investigated with western blot in bile and scored. Descriptive statistics were calculated. In the three shelters investigated, prevalence of AA-amyloidosis was 57.1% (16/28 cats), 73.0% (19/26) and 52.0% (13/25), respectively. In 72.9% of cats (35 in total) three organs were affected concurrently. Histopathology and immunofluorescence of post-mortem extracted deposits identified SAA as the major protein source. The duration of stay in the shelters was positively associated with a histological score of AA-amyloidosis (B = 0.026, CI95% = 0.007-0.046; p = 0.010). AA-amyloidosis was very frequent in shelter cats. Presence of SAA fragments in bile secretions raises the possibility of fecal-oral transmission of the disease. In conclusion, AA-amyloidosis was very frequent in shelter cats and those staying longer had more deposits. The cat may represent a natural model of AA-amyloidosis.

Molecular Characterization of Feline Chaphamaparvovirus (Carnivore chaphamaparvovirus 2) Firstly Detected in Dogs from China

A new type of parvovirus known as feline chaphamaparvovirus (FeChPV) was discovered in the feces of shelter cats in Canada in 2019, and >50% of cats were reported to be infected with this virus. In this study, two FeChPV-positive samples were identified from the rectal swabs of 285 dogs with diarrhea but none in 50 healthy dogs. Whole genome sequences of these two FeChPV strains (OQ162042 and OQ162043) were amplified and compared with those of the two viruses originally discovered in Canada (IDEXX-1 and VRI849). The whole genome, NS1, and VP1 of the two FeChPV strains shared a high identity of 95.0%–97.8% nucleotide, 96.9%–98.6% amino acid (aa), and 97.2%–98.8% aa with the reported FeChPV strains, respectively. The phylogenetic tree of NS1 and VP1 revealed that two FeChPV strains, namely, CHN20201025 and CHN20201226, were closely clustered with the two FeChPV prototypes detected in Canada in a group. Moreover, CHN20201025 and CHN20201226 were obviously different from Carnivore chaphamaparvovirus 1 and were classified as Carnivore chaphamaparvovirus 2. This is the first study to report the identification of FeChPV in fecal samples from dogs in China, and the genetic analysis of the FeChPV, which was previously detected in Canadian cats, would improve our understanding of its host spectrum.

CAT SHELTER BANJARBARU

Caring for pets has become part of the lifestyle of modern society. The high interest in keeping animals is directly proportional to the growth of the abandoned animal population in Banjarbaru City. The follow-up to this problem is to create a shelter facility for abandoned animals who are sick, injured, tortured, or need protection in the form of Cat Shelters. The design of the Cat Shelter in Banjarbaru pays attention to the habits and character of cats. Programmatic architecture is used to organize space functions based on the flow of cat rescue activities and the interaction of cats and humans. The attractive concept is applied in the design to be able to make humans and cats whose characters are spoiled and cute have good interactions. The design was made several times to separate cat rescue activities and cat interaction activities

Molecular evidence of Ehrlichia canis, associated risk factors and hematobiochemical analysis in client owned and shelter cats of Pakistan

Ehrlichiosis is an infectious disease caused by Ehrlichia canis (E. canis) genus and arthropod vectors. It is considered endemic in many parts of the world among dogs. But due to lack of research on cats, there isn't enough information available. The limited reports available on feline Ehrlichiosis relied on the detection of morulae in leukocytes. The current study was designed to detect the molecular prevalence of E. canis in cats along with associated risk factors and hematological analysis. A total of 384 blood samples from cats were collected from various veterinary hospitals and shelter homes and tested by microscopy and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to identify E. canis. The prevalence of E. canis has been reported at 5/384 (1.30%) and (14/384) 3.65% in cats through microscopy and PCR respectively. DNA sequences revealed significant resemblance with each other and variable resemblance with other Ehrlichia spp. sequences of different species from various countries already deposited on NCBI. Moreover, hematobiochemical and risk factor analysis were also carried out revealing significant results. This study reports first molecular detection of E. canis in client-owned and sheltered cats located in District Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. Further studies should be conducted to identify its occurrence in the feline population of Pakistan so that control and prevention strategies must be planned accordingly. Due to the zoonotic impact of this pathogen and in perspective of one health, endemic regions of the disease should be identified and possible control measures should be implemented in these regions to minimize the spread of disease to non-endemic regions of the world and from animals to humans.

Effects of Electro-acupuncture on Shelter Cat Anesthesia Recovery from Ovariohysterectomy: A Randomized and Controlled Clinical Study

Spay-neuter programs are crucial to effective community management of unowned animals but face challenges of limited funding and personnel. Identification of cost-effective sterilization protocols while providing comparable quality veterinary care is needed. The objective of the current study was to investigate the effects of atipamezole dose reduction with or without electro-acupuncture (EAP) for comparable anesthetic recovery to a higher dose of atipamezole (greater program cost) following ovariohysterectomy (OHE). A total of 56 shelter cats were enrolled and randomized into 4 anesthetic recovery treatment groups: Group A (control) was treated with 10mcg/kg intramuscular (IM) atipamezole; Group B was treated with 5mcg/kg IM atipamezole + EAP; Group C was treated with EAP only; and Group D was treated with 5mcg/kg IM atipamezole. Recovery time was recorded from post-surgery treatment to first observation of 1) voluntary movement, 2) swallow reflex, 3) head lifting and 4) ambulation. Study results found that anesthesia recovery for patients using EAP only (Group C) had a significantly longer duration than all other groups (p < 0.001). Groups B and D (low dose atipamezole with or without EAP) were not significantly different from each other or the high dose animals (Group A). Group B recovery (with EAP), however, was nonsignificantly shorter for all 4 outcome measures when compared to Group D (without EAP). Clinical relevance of study findings suggests 5mcg/kg atipamezole provides an equally effective recovery from general anesthesia when compared to 10mcg/kg for shelter animals undergoing OHE.

Effects of Electro-acupuncture on Shelter Cat Anesthesia Recovery from Ovariohysterectomy: A Randomized and Controlled Clinical Study

Spay-neuter programs are crucial to effective community management of unowned animals but face challenges of limited funding and personnel. Identification of cost-effective sterilization protocols while providing comparable quality veterinary care is needed. The objective of the current study was to investigate the effects of atipamezole dose reduction with or without electro-acupuncture (EAP) for comparable anesthetic recovery to a higher dose of atipamezole (greater program cost) following ovariohysterectomy (OHE). A total of 56 shelter cats were enrolled and randomized into 4 anesthetic recovery treatment groups: Group A (control) was treated with 10mcg/kg intramuscular (IM) atipamezole; Group B was treated with 5mcg/kg IM atipamezole + EAP; Group C was treated with EAP only; and Group D was treated with 5mcg/kg IM atipamezole. Recovery time was recorded from post-surgery treatment to first observation of 1) voluntary movement, 2) swallow reflex, 3) head lifting and 4) ambulation. Study results found that anesthesia recovery for patients using EAP only (Group C) had a significantly longer duration than all other groups (p < 0.001). Groups B and D (low dose atipamezole with or without EAP) were not significantly different from each other or the high dose animals (Group A). Group B recovery (with EAP), however, was nonsignificantly shorter for all 4 outcome measures when compared to Group D (without EAP). Clinical relevance of study findings suggests 5mcg/kg atipamezole provides an equally effective recovery from general anesthesia when compared to 10mcg/kg for shelter animals undergoing OHE.

Effects of Electro-acupuncture on Shelter Cat Anesthesia Recovery from Ovariohysterectomy: A Randomized and Controlled Clinical Study

Spay-neuter programs are crucial to effective community management of unowned animals but face challenges of limited funding and personnel. Identification of cost-effective sterilization protocols while providing comparable quality veterinary care is needed. The objective of the current study was to investigate the effects of atipamezole dose reduction with or without electro-acupuncture (EAP) for comparable anesthetic recovery to a higher dose of atipamezole (greater program cost) following ovariohysterectomy (OHE). A total of 56 shelter cats were enrolled and randomized into 4 anesthetic recovery treatment groups: Group A (control) was treated with 10mcg/kg intramuscular (IM) atipamezole; Group B was treated with 5mcg/kg IM atipamezole + EAP; Group C was treated with EAP only; and Group D was treated with 5mcg/kg IM atipamezole. Recovery time was recorded from post-surgery treatment to first observation of 1) voluntary movement, 2) swallow reflex, 3) head lifting and 4) ambulation. Study results found that anesthesia recovery for patients using EAP only (Group C) had a significantly longer duration than all other groups (p < 0.001). Groups B and D (low dose atipamezole with or without EAP) were not significantly different from each other or the high dose animals (Group A). Group B recovery (with EAP), however, was nonsignificantly shorter for all 4 outcome measures when compared to Group D (without EAP). Clinical relevance of study findings suggests 5mcg/kg atipamezole provides an equally effective recovery from general anesthesia when compared to 10mcg/kg for shelter animals undergoing OHE.

Animal shelter management of feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus infections in cats.

Approximately 5% of cats in animal shelters in the United States test positive for either feline leukemia virus (FeLV) or feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), which translates to more than 100,000 positive cats managed by shelters each year. Little is known about the current status of retroviral management in animal shelters, particularly in regions burdened by chronic pet overpopulation and high shelter admissions, such as the southern United States. The purpose of this study was to describe feline retroviral management in Florida shelters. Shelters were surveyed on practices including selection of cats for testing, diagnostic techniques, and outcome options for cats with positive test results. Responses were received from 139 of 153 animal shelters known to admit cats, including 55 municipal shelters (40%), 70 private shelters (50%), and 14 private shelters with municipal contracts (10%). A total of 115 shelters (83%) performed at least some testing, most using combination point-of-care devices for simultaneous FeLV antigen and FIV antibody screening. Of shelters that performed any testing, 56 (49%) tested all cats for FeLV and 52 (45%) tested all cats for both FeLV and FIV. The most common reason for testing was screening adoptable cats (108 shelters; 94%) and cats available for transfer to other organizations (78; 68%). Testing cats in trap-neuter-return/return-to-field programs was least common (21; 18%). Most common outcome options for positive cats included adoption (74; 64%), transfer (62; 54%), and euthanasia (49; 43%). Euthanasia following a positive test result was more common for cats with FeLV (49; 43%) than for cats with FIV (29; 25%) and was more common in municipal shelters, rural shelters, shelters taking in <500 cats a year, and shelters with overall live outcome rates for cats <70%. Although Florida shelter compliance with national guidelines for identification and management of FeLV and FIV positive cats was variable, most had live outcome options for at least some of their cats with positive test results. Increased access to training and practical programmatic tools may help more shelters implement cost-effective testing protocols, reduce risk for transmission to other cats, and support the best outcomes for this vulnerable population of cats.

Experiences of parents of autistic children who adopted a cat

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by impaired social interaction and communication. Autistic children suffer from social cognitive difficulties. There is no specific treatment for ASD, but ongoing individualized care can lead to an improvement in symptoms. Adopting a pet into a family with an autistic child is increasingly recognized as beneficial for improving some of the child’s social skills. Cats are the second most common pet in the homes of autistic children. Previous studies showed that adopting calm-tempered shelter cats to autistic children decreased anxiety and improved the child’s social skills. In the present study, we aimed to qualitatively explore the experience of parents of autistic children who adopted a shelter cat. 11 families participated in the study, and were asked 6 open-ended questions every 2 weeks for 18 weeks after the cat's adoption. Five main themes emerged from the analysis: benefits of cat adoption, challenges of cat adoption, parent-cat bonding, child-cat bonding, and family impact of cat adoption. Adoption leads to the creation of a strong relationship between the family members and the shelter cat, and an improvement in the child’s social skills, with some difficulties related to the maintenance of the cat. These findings highlight the beneficial impact of adopting a shelter cat into a family with an autistic child, and open the door for future research to generalize these results.

When and Why Cats Are Returned to Shelters.

There is considerable research on why cats are initially relinquished to shelters, but much less attention has been given to returns, despite the significant implications for shelter capacity and cat welfare. Furthermore, the structure of many databases fails to account for cats who are returned beyond 30 days, despite this making up a substantial portion of returns. In the current study, we examined common risk factors and reasons for return in a population of 2642 shelter cats. We found that cats who were older at the time of adoption or had a bite history had an increased risk of return, whereas cats that were in foster care prior to adoption had a decreased risk of return. We divided the returns by the time to return (&lt;30 days: short term, &gt;30 days: long term) to examine whether time to return had an impact. Approximately half the cats were returned in the short term. Cats were more likely to be returned for reasons, such as behavior, unwanted, and other pet in the short term and personal reasons, cost, euthanasia, and stray in the long-term return. Strategies to reduce returns should consider different solutions for short and long returns to maximize effectiveness.

Perancangan Prototype Pemberi Pakan Kucing Otomatis Berdasarkan Umur Berbasis Sms Gateway

Of the several animals that we know, the cat is one of the most popular pets in today's society. However, in order to keep the pet cat in good health, cat keeper must pay more attention to the food schedule otherwise the cat will be susceptible to disease, so it can harm the cat itself. In today's modern era, many things can be designed to make activities easier. One of them is the design of a prototype automatic cat feeder. The purpose of this research is to design and make an automatic cat feeding device using Arduino Uno R3 as the brain in this series which then uses Arduino IDE software and C++ programming discussion to input the data that will be needed. Furthermore, this tool will also be directly connected to the RTC (Real Time Clock) as a benchmark for the hour and date and the servo motor as a valve controller, so that the feeder will open according to the input schedule. This tool also uses the GPRS Shield 800L as a sender of SMS notifications when the prediction feed is running out. Finally, this one set of tools also uses a step down module which can be used as a voltage adjustment for the feeder. This tool can later be useful, especially for cat shelter owners/keepers because it can provide feed according to a time and schedule whose own dose can be inputted based on age. The advantage of this tool is that it can last for approximately 2 hours without electricity (possibly when the power goes out) specifically for sending notifications.

Molecular detection of feline hemoplasmas and retroviruses in free-roaming and shelter cats within a university campus.

The aim of the present study was to assess the frequency of hemoplasma, feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) infections in cats living in an on-campus shelter and free-roaming cats within a university campus in Brazil. Blood samples were tested using quantitative PCR for hemoplasma, FIV and FeLV. Positive hemoplasma samples were sequenced. Associations between hemoplasma detection and living situation, sex, flea and/or tick parasitism, and coinfection with FIV and FeLV, were assessed using Fisher's exact test and the respective odds ratios were calculated. Overall, 6/45 (13.3%) cats tested positive: four (8.9%) were infected with 'Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum' and two (4.4%) with Mycoplasma haemofelis. All positive samples were from free-roaming cats (6/15; 40.0%) and had statistically significantly lower packed cell volumes (P = 0.037). Although 5/23 (21.7%) males and 1/22 (4.6%) females were positive, no statistically significant association between sex and hemoplasma infection was found (P = 0.19). Viral quantitative PCR (qPCR) was performed on 43/45 samples, among which 2/43 (4.7%) were positive for FIV and none for FeLV. Only one cat (2.3%) was coinfected with hemoplasma and FIV (P = 0.26). In addition, 4/6 (66.7%) cats that tested positive for hemoplasmas were infested by fleas (P = 0.0014) and/or ticks (P = 0.25). These results show that even if the free-roaming cat population is clinically healthy and has adequate access to food, it may present flea infestation and hemoplasma infection with lower packed cell volume values.

Profiling Bartonella infection and its associated risk factors in shelter cats in Malaysia.

Poor disease management and irregular vector control could predispose sheltered animals to disease such as feline Bartonella infection, a vector-borne zoonotic disease primarily caused by Bartonella henselae. This study investigated the status of Bartonella infection in cats from eight (n = 8) shelters by molecular and serological approaches, profiling the CD4:CD8 ratio and the risk factors associated with Bartonella infection in shelter cats. Bartonella deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was detected through polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer gene, followed by DNA sequencing. Bartonella IgM and IgG antibody titre, CD4 and CD8 profiles were detected using indirect immunofluorescence assay and flow cytometric analysis, respectively. B. henselae was detected through PCR and sequencing in 1.0% (1/101) oral swab and 2.0% (1/50) cat fleas, while another 3/50 cat fleas carried B. clarridgeiae. Only 18/101 cats were seronegative against B. henselae, whereas 30.7% (31/101) cats were positive for both IgM and IgG, 8% (18/101) cats had IgM, and 33.7% (34/101) cats had IgG antibody only. None of the eight shelters sampled had Bartonella antibody-free cats. Although abnormal CD4:CD8 ratio was observed in 48/83 seropositive cats, flea infestation was the only significant risk factor observed in this study. The present study provides the first comparison on the Bartonella spp. antigen, antibody status and CD4:CD8 ratio among shelter cats. The high B. henselae seropositivity among shelter cats presumably due to significant flea infestation triggers an alarm of whether the infection could go undetectable and its potential transmission to humans.

Detection of FeChPV in a cat shelter outbreak of upper respiratory tract disease in China.

Feline parvovirus often causes a fatal infectious disease and has a serious impact on domestic cats and wild felines. Feline chaphamaparvovirus (FeChPV) is a novel type of feline parvovirus that has been successively identified in Canada, Italy, and Turkey. The prevalence and pathogenicity of FeChPV in other regions is still unknown. In this study, we recorded the detection of FeChPV in a cat shelter in China. A high prevalence (81.08%, 30/37) of FeChPV was detected in cats with symptoms of upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) in this cat shelter. Multiple pathogen testing indicated high coinfection rates of 80% (24/30) with other common viruses in FeChPV-positive cats. Analyses of the necropsy and histopathological findings revealed severe lymphadenitis, encephalitis, and viral DNA in several tissues (including brain) of the deceased cat. Finally, we obtained nearly full-length genomes of four strains with 98.4%~98.6% homology with previously reported genomes. Notably, VP1 proteins showed seven unique amino acid mutations, while NS1 proteins carried eight mutations. In the evolutionary tree based on VP1 and NS1, the sequences clustered in a large branch with Italian and Canadian FeChPV strains. Given the possible association of FeChPV with URTD, further studies are necessary to evaluate the pathogenicity and epidemiological characteristics of this novel feline pathogen.

Global prevalence and epidemiology of leptospirosis in domestic cats, a systematic review and meta-analysis

Research worldwide describes different prevalences of leptospirosis in domestic cats. The aims of this study were: to perform a systematic review to determine epidemiologic characteristics of published observational studies on leptospirosis, and to obtain pooled measures of the global prevalence of the disease with a meta-analysis for studies using indirect diagnostic tests (M1) and direct diagnostic tests (M2). A bibliographic search to find observational epidemiological studies reporting the prevalence of leptospirosis in cats was performed. The geographic location and decade of publication of the studies, serovars, serogroups and factors associated with Leptospira infection were summarized through a systematic review. Meta-analyses were achieved to obtain the pooled global prevalence (M1 and M2), prevalences according to the continent and origin of the sampled cats. 139 articles were found, and 93 were selected. In 16 articles, Leptospira serogroups were recorded and seropositivity was more frequent for Icterohaemorragiae, Australis, Autumnalis, Pomona. In 59 articles, the serovars were reported, being the most common reactions for Pomona, Grippotyphosa and Canicola. The M1 included 83 articles; the pooled prevalence was 11.09 % (95 % CI = 8.68–13.73). The M2 comprised 23 studies and the pooled prevalence was 9.22 % (95 % CI = 4.30–15.41). A subgroup analysis revealed higher pooled prevalences in Oceania and Europe, shelter, rural and outdoor cats in studies using indirect diagnostic tests and in Asia, stray cats and veterinary hospital patients in studies with direct tests.

The morbidity and the spectrum of applied drugs in shelter cats in the Czech Republic

Maintaining appropriate living conditions and good health of the animals should be one of the main priorities of cat shelters. The aim of this study was to assess the morbidity of shelter cats on the basis of analysis of the shelter health records in terms of the nature and quantity of medicaments and other supportive products administered in two no-kill shelters in the Czech Republic. The subject of the study were the health records of 1,884 cats, which were admitted to the selected shelters from 1.1.2013 to 31.12.2021 and their stay in the shelter was terminated in the monitored period. More than half of all cats whose records were analyzed had at least one health record made during their stay in the shelter. The overall length of stay of cats in the shelter (regardless of the outcome) in which one or more health records were found was significantly longer compared to the length of stay of cats without any health records. The highest number of health records was found in kittens <6 months old. Antibiotics, antiparasitics, and complementary/protective substances were the most used among all administered drugs. Broad-spectrum antibiotics have been administered to cats most often. In terms of classification of antibiotics according to the active substance, the most used antibiotics were penicillins, tetracyclines, and fluoroquinolones. Antibiotics were mostly used to treat diseases related to the upper and lower respiratory tract and their symptoms and gastrointestinal problems. The findings of the study contribute to understanding health problems and approaches to treating the shelter cats.