🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

Ellis and colleagues, on behalf of the American Association of Feline Practitioners and the International Society of Feline Medicine, produced consensus guidelines defining the environmental needs of…

Sarah L. H. Ellis, Ilona Rodan, Hazel C. Carney, et al. · Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery · 2013

This study validated and applied fecal steroid hormone assays to track ovarian activity in multiple felid species without restraint or blood sampling. The authors characterized how estrogen and proges…

Brown JL, Wasser SK, Wildt DE, Graham LH · Biology of Reproduction · 1994

Herron and Buffington reviewed the principles and practice of environmental enrichment for indoor-housed cats, translating research on feline behaviour and stress physiology into practical recommendat…

Meghan E. Herron, C. A. Tony Buffington · Compendium: Continuing Education for Veterinarians · 2010

This influential study identified the molecular basis of black coats across multiple cat species and showed that melanism evolved independently several times in the family. The authors found that mela…

Eduardo Eizirik, Stephen J. O'Brien, et al. · Current Biology · 2003

This comparative study applied trait ratings to multiple felid species, including domestic cats, African lions, snow leopards, clouded leopards, and Scottish wildcats, to ask whether personality dimen…

Marieke Gartner, David Powell, Alexander Weiss · Journal of Comparative Psychology · 2014

Nutter, Levine and Stoskopf studied the reproductive biology of free-roaming cats to inform population management, monitoring breeding females in feral colonies. They documented high reproductive outp…

Felicia B. Nutter, Jay F. Levine, Michael K. Stoskopf · Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association · 2004

Beyond cancer, FeLV frequently causes severe nonregenerative anemia and broader bone marrow suppression, making hematologic disease a leading cause of death in infected cats. The subgroup C variant sp…

Cats possess paired anal sacs that produce a strongly scented secretion thought to contribute to individual odor identity and communication. This overview surveys what is known about these secretions,…

Coat colour can affect heat balance, and this overview reviews how dark and light fur interact with thermal load in cats. Darker coats absorb more solar radiation and may warm faster in sun, while lig…

In induced-ovulating felids the chance that mating triggers ovulation rises with the number and spacing of copulations, suggesting a threshold of cumulative stimulation that the female's neuroendocrin…

The same species that lives solitarily where prey is scarce forms dense colonies where food concentrates, and this flexibility makes the cat a model for density-dependent sociality. This overview surv…

Ambush predators must judge the distance to prey accurately before striking, and pupil shape can influence the depth cues available. This overview surveys the proposal that vertical-slit pupils create…

A cat's ears reveal where its attention lies, swiveling toward sounds of interest even when the head and eyes are still. This overview surveys how ear orientation serves as a readout of auditory atten…

Beyond discriminating emotional expressions, cats may absorb or respond to their owners' emotional states, a phenomenon related to emotional contagion. This overview surveys research probing whether c…

Long-term studies of urban feral cat colonies, including well-known work in Rome, document stable groups built around related females and their offspring, with males ranging more widely and showing lo…

Many white cats, especially blue-eyed ones, are deaf, and this overview reviews the link between coat colour genetics and hearing. The dominant white gene can disrupt the development of pigment cells…

Senior cats frequently have multiple concurrent chronic diseases, such as chronic kidney disease, hyperthyroidism, osteoarthritis, dental disease, and hypertension, whose treatments can interact and s…

Genetic studies of feral cat colonies have revealed promiscuous mating systems in which a single litter is frequently sired by several males. This overview surveys research using paternity analysis to…

Molnupiravir, a nucleoside analog that induces lethal mutagenesis in RNA viruses, emerged as an oral option for FIP, particularly as a rescue therapy for cats that relapse or respond poorly to GS-4415…

Because female cats may mate with several males during a single estrus, individual litters can contain offspring sired by more than one father. This overview surveys evidence for multiple paternity ac…

Stimulating the ovaries with exogenous gonadotropins to produce multiple follicles is a key step in collecting eggs or preparing females for insemination in cats. This overview surveys ovarian stimula…

Many homes keep several cats, but because cats are facultatively social and territorial, cohabitation can generate chronic stress. This overview surveys research on the welfare challenges of multi-cat…

String-pulling tasks, in which an animal must pull a string to obtain attached food, test understanding of means-end connections and physical relations. This overview surveys research with cats on sin…

A feline version of the Glasgow composite measure pain scale was developed to assess acute pain in cats through observation of behaviors and responses, including facial expressions, providing another…

The UNESP-Botucatu multidimensional composite pain scale was developed and validated to assess acute postoperative pain in cats, combining behavioral observations, responses to palpation, and physiolo…

Beyond catnip and silver vine, valerian root and Tatarian honeysuckle wood also elicit pleasurable responses in many cats. This overview surveys these alternative botanicals, which can stimulate cats…

Cats communicate a great deal through the positions of their ears, tail, body, and fur, and through pupil dilation, conveying emotional state and intentions without sound. This overview surveys etholo…

This study tested how domestic cats respond to four plant materials known to elicit olfactory-driven reactions: silver vine, Tatarian honeysuckle, valerian root, and catnip. By presenting these materi…

Sebastiaan Bol, Jana Caspers, Lauren Buckingham, et al. · BMC Veterinary Research · 2017

This study traced the ancestry of the domestic cat by sampling wildcats across their range and comparing mitochondrial DNA from hundreds of wild and domestic individuals. The authors showed that all d…

Carlos A. Driscoll, Marilyn Menotti-Raymond, Stephen J. O'Brien, et al. · Science · 2007