Research overview: emerging tick-borne diseases in wild felids

Tick-borne diseases are emerging and shifting in wild felids as tick distributions change and molecular tools reveal new pathogens. This overview surveys the changing landscape of tick-borne disease in cats, including the expansion of vectors with climate change, the discovery of novel tick-associated pathogens through sequencing, and the recognition of agents like Cytauxzoon spreading into new areas. It examines how these dynamics alter disease risk for wild and domestic felids and the surveillance needed to track them. The synthesis connects vector ecology and molecular discovery to emerging felid disease. It aims to help readers understand that the tick-borne disease threats facing wild cats are not fixed but evolving, driven by environmental change and our growing ability to detect pathogens, making this an active frontier in felid disease epidemiology.