INTRODUCTION Although antibodies to the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) have been detected by SNAP assay in cats from St. Kitts, there have been no molecular studies to further confirm the infection and determine the FIV subtypes present. METHODOLOGY Total nucleic acids were extracted from EDTA whole blood specimens from 35 cats, followed by quantitative fluorescence resonance energy tran...

Feline Coronavirus (FCoV), Feline Leukaemia Virus (FeLV), Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV) and Feline ParvoVirus (FPV) are significantly important viral agents in domestic and wild cats, cause prevalently immunosuppressive infections in cat population in worldwide [5, 11, 14, 17, 18, 27]. These diseases are commonly characterized by immune pathological defects such immunodeficiency, immunosu...

BACKGROUND The population of dogs and cats passing through rescue shelters may be subject to compromised welfare and increased susceptibility to disease. Little information exists to describe this population, its dynamics and associated management practices. The aim of this study was to carry out a census of un-owned cats and dogs in the UK in 2010, and to document the origins, destinations, hu...

BACKGROUND There are a number of different methods that can be used when estimating the size of the owned cat and dog population in a region, leading to varying population estimates. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review to evaluate the methods that have been used for estimating the sizes of owned cat and dog populations and to assess the biases associated with those methods....

BACKGROUND Ketones, including beta hydroxybutyrate (BHB), are produced in conditions of negative energy balance and decreased glucose utilization. Serum BHB concentrations in cats are poorly characterized in diseases other than diabetes mellitus. HYPOTHESIS Serum BHB concentrations will be increased in cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD), hyperthyroidism (HT), or hepatic lipidosis (HL). ...

Feline obesity is a prevalent medical disease and the main therapeutic strategy is dietary energy restriction. However, at present there are no data regarding long-term outcome in this species. The purpose of the present study was to investigate if, as in other species, some cats regain weight following successful weight loss, and to identify any influencing factors in a cohort of client-owned ...

OBJECTIVES Our aim was to: (i) determine the current seroprevalence of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and feline leukaemia virus (FeLV) in three large cohorts of cats from Australia; and (ii) investigate potential risk factors for retroviral infection. METHODS Cohort 1 (n = 2151 for FIV, n = 2241 for FeLV) consisted of cats surrendered to a shelter on the west coast of Australia (Perth, ...

Feline obesity is a prevalent medical disease and the main therapeutic strategy is dietary energy restriction. However, at present there are no data regarding long-term outcome in this species. The purpose of the present study was to investigate if, as in other species, some cats regain weight following successful weight loss, and to identify any influencing factors in a cohort of client-owned ...

BACKGROUND Although there is serologic evidence of exposure of cats to Leptospira spp., clinical disease is rarely reported in cats. OBJECTIVE To compare the seropositivity and urinary polymerase chain reaction (PCR) status for Leptospira spp. between healthy (H) cats and cats with kidney disease (KD), to investigate the serovars potentially involved, and to evaluate potential risk factors. ...