🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

Captive big cats commonly require dental procedures, especially for fractured canine teeth, and these interventions demand careful general anesthesia given the size, danger, and physiologic vulnerabil…

A monoclonal antibody targeting nerve growth factor, a key mediator of chronic pain, was developed as a long-acting injectable treatment for the pain of feline osteoarthritis, offering a novel mechani…

Antibody titer testing measures a cat's existing immunity to diseases such as panleukopenia and can inform decisions about whether revaccination is needed, supporting individualized protocols that avo…

Assisted reproductive technologies, including artificial insemination, semen and embryo cryopreservation, and in vitro fertilization, have been applied to felids to support captive breeding and conser…

Because cats evolved to conceal vulnerability, they display pain through subtle behavioral changes rather than obvious distress, and research has cataloged the signs, including reduced activity and ju…

Bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, established itself in some African lion populations, notably in Kruger National Park, after spreading through prey species such as buffalo, raising…

Buprenorphine, a partial opioid agonist, became a widely used analgesic in cats, valued for its efficacy, duration, and the practical feature that it can be absorbed through the oral mucosa, allowing…

Feline calicivirus has been associated with caudal stomatitis, inflammation in the back of the mouth that is a hallmark of chronic gingivostomatitis, leading researchers to investigate the virus's rol…

A canine distemper virus outbreak caused substantial mortality in the lions of the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in the mid-1990s, a landmark event in wildlife disease ecology that demonstrated how a virus…

Capture myopathy, a potentially fatal syndrome of muscle damage arising from the stress, exertion, and physiologic derangement of capture and restraint, is a recognized risk when immobilizing wild fel…

Captive cheetahs are notably prone to a severe chronic gastritis associated with Helicobacter infection, a condition far more debilitating in captive than in wild cheetahs, suggesting that stress, imm…

Like HIV, FIV infection progresses through recognizable phases: an acute stage with fever, lymphadenopathy, and transient neutropenia; a long, clinically silent asymptomatic stage that can last years;…

Therapeutic renal diets, characterized by restricted phosphorus and protein, supplemented omega-3 fatty acids, added potassium and B-vitamins, and alkalinizing properties, are among the few interventi…

The critically endangered Iberian lynx has been the focus of intensive conservation medicine within recovery programs combining captive breeding, reintroduction, and disease management. Veterinary con…

Continuous and flash glucose monitoring systems, originally developed for humans and adapted for cats, use a small subcutaneous sensor to track interstitial glucose over days, providing detailed gluco…

Vaccination guidelines from bodies such as the AAFP and WSAVA classify feline vaccines as core, recommended for all cats, including panleukopenia, herpesvirus, calicivirus, and rabies, and non-core, r…

While remote darting is essential for immobilizing dangerous felids, the dart itself can cause injury, including muscle trauma, infection at the injection site, bone impact, or, rarely, penetration of…

Large serosurveys document a substantial decline in FeLV prevalence across many countries since the 1980s, attributed to testing, vaccination, removal of infected cats from breeding and group settings…

Diabetic ketoacidosis is a life-threatening complication of feline diabetes in which insulin deficiency and counter-regulatory hormones drive ketone production, metabolic acidosis, dehydration, and el…

Controlling blood phosphorus through dietary restriction and phosphate binders is a cornerstone of CKD management in cats, supported by evidence that phosphorus retention drives mineral and bone disor…

The endangered Amur (Siberian) tiger has been the subject of disease surveillance that uncovered cases of canine distemper virus infection causing neurologic disease and abnormal behavior in wild tige…

FeLV vaccines are non-core products recommended for cats at risk of exposure, especially kittens and outdoor cats, and their introduction contributed to declining FeLV prevalence. Studies have examine…

FIP classically presents in two overlapping forms. The effusive (wet) form features protein-rich fluid accumulation in the abdomen or chest from vasculitis and leaky vessels, while the non-effusive (d…

The domestic cat genome carries endogenous retroviral sequences related to FeLV, remnants of ancient germline infections that are inherited rather than transmitted. These endogenous elements can recom…

The apparent emergence and rise of feline hyperthyroidism since around 1980 has prompted investigation of environmental risk factors, including flame-retardant chemicals such as polybrominated dipheny…

Epidemiologic studies describe feline hyperthyroidism as a disease of middle-aged and older cats whose recognized prevalence increased markedly through the late twentieth century, making it among the…

Accurate drug dosing for field immobilization depends on estimating the body weight of an unweighable free-ranging felid, a source of significant error that can lead to underdosing, with dangerous inc…

Feline chronic gingivostomatitis is a severe, painful inflammatory disease of the mouth characterized by widespread inflammation of the gums and oral mucosa, often causing difficulty eating, drooling,…

Aging cats can develop cognitive dysfunction syndrome, a decline in cognitive function analogous to dementia, manifesting as disorientation, altered social interactions, changes in sleep-wake cycles,…

Feline coronavirus circulates widely as a generally mild enteric virus (FECV), but in a minority of infected cats it mutates within the host into a virulent biotype (FIPV) capable of replicating in ma…