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23/02/2022

Cat plague is back after nearly 40 years in hiding – here’s what you need to know
A deadly feline disease is now spreading between cats after hiding in nature for nearly 40 years. Multiple cases of feline parvovirus, also known as cat plague, or panleukopenia, have been reported in stray kittens in the greater Melbourne area this week.

Feline parvovirus was a common disease in the 1960s and 1970s. Australia was one of the first countries to develop an effective vaccine. Once widespread vaccination became routine, the disease was pushed back into nature.

Most cases of parvovirus are in kittens and young cats. Raphael Schaller
In the 1970s, cases were typically seen in unvaccinated kittens purchased from markets or pet stores, and in shelters where vaccination protocols were lax.

Between the early 1980s and 2015, cases were unreported, but no doubt feral and semi-owned cats were still sporadically infected.

The re-emergence first occurred in animal shelters in Mildura and Melbourne in 2016 and south-western Sydney in 2016. Many cats died. Even survivors suffered greatly. In all these outbreaks, affected cats had one thing in common – they had not been vaccinated.

What is feline parvovirus and how does it kill?
Feline parvovirus has a predilection for infecting rapidly dividing tissues. Cells lining the small intestine of infected cats are killed, resulting in vomiting, diarrhoea (often bloody), fever, lethargy, anorexia and sometimes sudden death.

The bone marrow is transiently wiped out by the virus, resulting in a depletion of white blood cells. As a result, infected cats are unable to fight the invasion by secondary bacteria that attack the leaky gut wall.

Read more: How desexing cats saves lives

Most cases of feline parvovirus are in unvaccinated kittens or young cats. The welfare of cats is hugely impacted by this terrible disease – it makes cats miserable for many days, if they survive.

Treatment involves intensive therapy in hospital: intravenous fluids by infusion pump, medication to reduce vomiting, expensive anti-viral treatment (omega-interferon), opioids for pain relief, antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections, and occasionally blood or plasma transfusions and nutritional support (feeding tubes).

This eight-week-old kitten, Cola, wasn’t vaccinated and contracted feline parvovirus. She needed a transfusion and recovered from the infection. David Hughes
Treatment can costs thousands of dollars, and many owners just can’t afford it. But even with treatment, the fatality rate remains high.

Feline parvovirus is spread by faeco-oral contamination: from infected cats shedding virus in their faeces. Litter trays and natural latrines (such as sandboxes) are prime sources of infection.

This may occur where infected cats are kept close to uninfected cats (in shelters and pounds), and in homes where cats have outdoor access. But you can track feline parvovirus into your house on your shoes or clothing, so even 100% indoor cats are not safe.

Feline parvovirus can usually be quickly diagnosed by veterinarians using rapid point-of-care test kits and then confirmed in a lab.

There is no risk of this virus spreading to human patients.

How did it re-emerge?
Feline parvovirus was never completely eliminated from the Australian cat population and instead has been maintained at low levels in the unowned and feral cat population for the past 40 years. Remember, there are perhaps six times as many unowned cats than owned cats in Australia!

This adaptable virus also has the potential to infect foxes and wild dogs, only later to be passed back to cats, providing a variety of potential environmental reservoirs.

Read more: Our dogs and cats are spreading fleas around the world (and to us)

Perhaps with an increased effort to rehabilitate and rehome “fringe dwelling cats”, it was inevitable that the virus would spill back from these unvaccinated cats into the general pet cat population, given waning herd immunity.

Consistent with this hypothesis is the first outbreak occurring in rural Mildura, a somewhat underprivileged socioeconomic area (government figures show the median household income is A$878 per week), and subject to incursions by feral cats, foxes and wild dogs – including dogs used for hunting.

Unvaccinated pet cats permitted the re-emergence of the virus. David Vázquez
It is our suspicion that the cost of vaccinating the family cat (currently more than A$200 for a kitten requiring a course of two to three vaccines) exceeds the budget for many pet owners.

The best protection for any cat (and every cat) is widespread vaccination of as many cats as possible in the community at large. This “herd immunity” is the best protection against this highly contagious, persistent, resistant virus. When vaccination rates fall below 70%, cat populations are in trouble.

How do we protect pet cats?
Vaccination against feline parvovirus is highly effective (more than 99%) and is given by veterinarians as part of an F3 or F4 vaccine at the same time as a routine health check.

The Australian Veterinary Association recently recommended all cats be vaccinated annually. But with the modern range of vaccines, there is good evidence that in kittens older than 16 weeks, a single vaccination produces immunity which last several years

If a kitten has received two or three kitten vaccinations (the last one at 16-18 weeks of age), and a booster one year later, it likely has excellent protection against the virus, probably for several years, and possibly for life.

Is it time to vaccinate? Krista Mangulsone
If your adult cat has received an annual vaccination in the past three years, it likely has excellent protection.

If your cat is more than three years overdue for its vaccination, it is sensible to visit your local veterinarian soon. Your cat will develop or maintain excellent protection within a few days of vaccination.

But what about unowned and feral cats?
We need to support efforts to vaccinate cats that have never been vaccinated against feline parvovirus – cats owned by people who are unable to afford vaccinations, and cats that have been dumped and are now unowned and free-roaming.

New South Wales is making some progress in this area. The NSW Cat Protection Society responded to a 2017 outbreak by subsidising free vaccinations for cat owners in Sydney. RSPCA NSW has ongoing targeted low-cost vaccination programs for cat owners, particularly in regional and remote areas of NSW.

Trap-neuter and return programs, while controversial, usually involve administering a F3/F4 vaccination to unowned and feral cats, thereby boosting herd immunity against feline parvovirus and also possibly reducing cat numbers.

Read more: Cat lovers rejoice: watching online videos lowers stress and makes you happy

Finally, for people who cannot afford veterinary care because of their life circumstances, Pets in the Park and similar charities can provide another option for vaccination.

Remember, the larger the proportion of the cat population that is vaccinated, the less chance any cat and every cat has of becoming infected. Stated another way, it’s far more effective to maximise the proportion of the cat population that is vaccinated, rather than over-vaccinating only a limited proportion of cats.

22/02/2022

Pretty kitties: feline ‘friendly’ genes mapped in study
House cats are a great source of companionship for many people – 3 million cats are kept as pets in Australia. Now thanks to research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science today, we understand the genetics behind some of the traits that make them such good pets, such as docility and affection.

While it seems cats have been in close contact with humans for around 9,000 years, it is only in the past 200 years or so that we have produced the domesticated breed we know today.

The research team behind today’s study, who were from various organisations including The Genome Institute, created the first complete domestic cat genome reference. To do this, they not only compared genomes of different mammals, such as cats, humans, cows and dogs, but they also compared the genomes of wild and domestic cats, and found the genes that make our household pets so friendly.

Domestication: it’s in their genes
Don Newgreen, head of the embryology laboratory at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, explained that when an animal is bred to affect its behaviour, other physical attributes also change. This is known as domestication syndrome.

“Even though you are choosing for pleasant-natured animals, you get other traits as well,” Dr Newgreen said. “These include a lot of changes in pigmentation, set up of the face and head, length of the nose or teeth as well as behavioural changes like becoming placid and unaggressive.”

The wildcat is more aggressive than its docile, domestic relatives. Brian Scott/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND
The study found the main factor in changing the feline genome was originally food rewards. By supplying cats with food, the cats became more docile, and due to domestication syndrome, these changes in their behaviour affected other traits, such as hair colour, texture and pattern.

Bianca Haase, research fellow at The University of Sydney, said one of the main signs of cat domestication is the presence of fur patterns not found on wild cats.

“From other species, we know that white-spotting is a disadvantage [for wild cats],” Dr Haase explained. “There is no need for the [pet] animal to be camouflaged because they are protected, so an increase of white-spotting is a sign of domestication.”

White markings are a sign of domestication. Netzanette/Flickr, CC BY-NC
When comparing the feline genome sequence to other mammals, the team found traits specific to carnivores. These included heightened sensory development, such as excellent night vision and a keen sense of smell.

Cats are different from other carnivores in that they are hyper-carnivorous. While humans would be in danger of heart disease from a rich diet of fatty foods, wild and domestic cats have evolved to be able to process saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

Breeding cats for domestication is a relatively new practice, and there’s not been much time for new traits to evolve.

On top of this, humans don’t entirely control most cats’ eating or breeding habits, meaning pet cats are really only semi-domesticated. In Dr Newgreen’s opinion: “cats are not really domesticated, just tame.”

So while cat domestication is modest compared to domestic dogs, today’s study showed that genetic changes in feline behaviour and appearance will be retained as long as cats are kept as pets.

18/02/2022

Senate inquiry calls for tougher rules on pet food in Australia
Compulsory rules for the standards and labelling of pet food in Australia are among the recommendations in a Senate inquiry report released late Tuesday.

The Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee inquiry was set up in June following several cases in which dogs fell ill after eating pet food.

Currently, the pet food industry in Australia is self-regulated. The Australian Standards for the manufacturing and marketing of pet food are voluntary, and published behind a paywall.

Read more: Is your dog happy? Ten common misconceptions about dog behaviour

There is no mandatory recall system for pet food, and no mechanism for consumers to report adverse events. Essentially, there is minimal government oversight of this industry. This makes it hard for pet owners to be confident the food they feed their beloved pets is both safe and nutritious.

The Senate report makes seven recommendations including calls for:

the standards to be made mandatory and publicly accessible
a national pet food manufacturing and safety policy framework to be established
for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to create a consumer reporting mechanism and improved recall systems.
The inquiry considered more than 150 public submissions from veterinarians, welfare organisations such as the RSPCA, industry groups, and concerned individuals. It also included two days of public hearings. Most of those submissions and presentations called strongly for change.

Sick dogs prompt food recall
This inquiry into pet food regulation started after public outcry around the recall of Advance Dermocare dog food. The product was recalled in March this year after several dogs developed life-threating oesophageal weakness (megaoesophagus) while being fed the food.

It took the pet food manufacturer three months to announce the recall after being notified of the cluster of sick dogs in December 2017.

Although this seems slow, there are actually no specific laws in Australia that force a pet food manufacturer to initiate a recall if their food is making pets sick.

There is a system called PetFAST, which is a voluntary recall initiative between the Australian Veterinary Association and the pet food industry body, the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia (PFIAA).

The PetFAST system arose after two incidents spanning 2007 to 2009 resulted in the deaths and illnesses of dozens of cats and dogs. Irradiated cat food imported from Canada caused paralysis in cats and imported chicken-jerky treats for dogs from China caused kidney toxicity.

At the time, no recall mechanisms for pet food safety incidents existed. The PetFAST system has helped with recent recalls of both cat and dog food. But it isn’t perfect.

It relies on veterinarians to recognise a possible link between a disease and a pet food, and on the pet food manufacturer to investigate and recall a product if required. Unfortunately it isn’t able to be used by consumers to report safety incidents, only veterinarians.

There are some laws that restrict what a pet food manufacturer can and can’t claim about a particular pet food. There are also restrictions around the importation of pet food products.

But the standards around the safety and nutrition of pet food aren’t mandatory. Combined with the lack of independent oversight of the industry, this creates a situation in which consumer trust and industry transparency are thin on the ground.

We’ve been here before
This week’s Senate report isn’t the first to call for improvements in the pet food industry.

A government working group into pet food regulation was formed in 2009 after the pet food safety incidents involving irradiated cat food and chicken-jerky treats.

Another working group into pet food regulation was set up this month by the federal government, pre-empting the Senate inquiry report. Although some improvements arose from the original working group, such as the PetFAST recall system and voluntary standards, what we really need now is definitive action.

The pet food industry in Australia has a revenue of more than A$4 billion a year and pet owners want to know that food is both safe and nutritious.

Submissions to the inquiry from the main manufacturers in Australia, as well as industry body the PFIAA, show increased regulation and mandatory standards are likely to be supported if recommended by government.

These measures are also supported by veterinarians, animal welfare groups such as the RSPCA, and consumer groups such as Choice.

Read more: Whose best friend? How gender and stereotypes can shape our relationship with dogs

What are the next steps? Both federal and state governments need to take action. The RSPCA also recommends mandatory auditing against the standards and expanding the standards to cover other pets such as rabbits and birds.

We know what needs to happen and there is widespread support for change. The new working group formed by the federal government to investigate pet food safety in Australia will report within 12 months.

Let’s hope the federal and state governments are willing to act on the report this time around. It’s been a decade since this issue was brought to the government’s attention. Australian pet owners shouldn’t have to wait any longer for real change.

17/02/2022

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17/02/2022

16/02/2022

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