While many people across the globe are struggling to make ends meet, caring for and feeding community cats can easily fall by the wayside. However, even during these times, we still have an obligation to ensure the health and well being of cats living outdoors, many of which rely on humans for food and shelter.
In Turkey, a place famous for their love of cats, the Interior Ministry issued a letter urging local administrations to protect and feed the country’s hundreds of thousands of stray cats while residents stay at home to contain the spread of the coronavirus. In the notice, the ministry wrote, “Food and water will be left at the living environments of street animals, such as parks and gardens, and particularly animal shelters. All necessary measures must be taken to ensure stray animals don’t go hungry.” In Istanbul alone, there are over 150,000 stray cats, who normally rely on the public for food and water. This initiative aims to ensure that no cat goes hungry while people are self-isolating. Similarly, in South Africa, feeding feral cats was deemed an essential service, so nonprofits and volunteers are continuing to feed colonies throughout the country.
At ACR, we are continuing to feed all of our colonies, and have taken over several others that were not being fed. Even though resources are stretched thin, ACR still cares for these colonies 365 days a year, despite the ongoing pandemic. If you are a colony caretaker, please continue to feed and care for your colonies. If you are unable, find someone who can replace you until you are able to continue. While the health and well being of individuals is important during this pandemic, it is equally important to ensure that the feral cats who rely on humans are fed and healthy as well.
As recently as 2019, feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) meant a certain death sentence for cats. Fortunately, Dr. Niels Pedersen of UC Davis discovered the cure for FIP: GS-441524, otherwise known as GS. So how does GS work?
In cats, FIP causes an immune defect or deficiency that causes white blood cells to multiply, as opposed to fight, the virus. Basically, cats with FIP have an immune system that spreads the virus throughout the body rather than trying to eradicate it. Some cats have no immune response, and they develop wet FIP. Cats who have partial immune response develop dry FIP. For either diagnosis, GS works by interjecting itself into the chain reaction and stops the replication of the virus.
Dr. Pedersen’s study determined that a 12 week, once daily administration is the successful course of treatment. Stopping treatment even after blood work returns to normal before the 12 weeks means a possible relapse. Cats who complete the full 12 week treatment and remain symptom less for 90 days after competition of the treatment are officially cured of FIP. GS comes in both injectable and pill form. Both are administered daily and the dose is determined by the weight of the cat.
The side effects of GS are relatively mild. Skin lesions and burns can be caused due to the acidity of the solution in injectable form. For this reason, it is recommended to always clean the cat’s skin after administering an injection. A mild pain medication, Gabapentin, can be given orally prior to the injection to prevent pain. However, most cats using GS injections tolerate the treatment and do not need any pain medication or sedative.
The biggest challenge facing GS at the moment is that the 12 week treatment is often considered cost prohibitive. Each 5 mL bottle of treatment costs from $80 - $358 depending on the brand. The dose is determined by the weight of the cat; each bottle of GS is 5mL liquid at either 15mg or 16.57 mg concentration. Therefore, 12 weeks of treatment can cost anywhere from $1,100 - $11,000 depending on the brand of GS used and the weight of the cat. This is a legitimate and unfortunate deterrent for owners wanting to treat their FIP cats with GS, and there is no sign that a cheaper alternative is in development. However, should you have the resources to treat your cat with GS, chances are that your kitty will go on to live a long and healthy life.
Each 5 mL bottle of treatment costs from $80 - $358 depending on the brand. The appropriate dose is based on the weight of the cat. Twelve weeks of treatment can cost anywhere from $1,100 - $11,000 depending on the brand of GS and the weight of the cat.
With more than 30 states placing nonessential vet visits on an indefinite hold due to the coronavirus outbreak, sterilizations and vaccines are also included under this restriction. While spaying or neutering is an important preventative measure, it’s not considered essential at this time. This puts unsterilized feral and stray female cats at high risk for becoming pregnant and giving birth to even more litters on the street. To make matters worse, this is occurring at the height of kitten season, which is the time of year where it becomes warmer and more mother cats become pregnant and give birth. Normally, shelters are filled with kittens at this time, but with most shelters closed, these kittens and their mothers are left to fend for themselves on the streets.
Similarly, TNR operations have decreased substantially, with only a few vets performing spay/neuters by appointment only. Furthermore, rescues who pull animals from shelters are now unable to have animals cleared by a vet before taking them in and may have to pay a higher cost to get them checked through other veterinarians, if they are able to make appointments. These factors mean that TNR organizations like ACR will have to play a major game of catch up once this pandemic comes to an end. With the number of kittens on the rise during kitten season, ACR will face an uphill battle trapping, sterilizing and vaccinating this surplus of new kittens, as well as their mothers. Similarly, while admirable, the outpouring of individuals fostering and adopting cats during quarantine has freed up space in shelters, but adoption agencies are often unable to spay/neuter cats and kittens before adopting or fostering. While this is not ideal, there is an agreement between the foster/adopter to have the cats sterilized once vet services return to normal.
In order to reach its goal of managing community cat colonies and practicing as much TNR as possible, ACR will rely heavily on generous donations from its supporters. At the same time, ACR is very cognizant that for many, money is very tight right now and that a lot of organizations are looking for philanthropy to get through this crisis. However, ACR hopes you understand the terrible effect this pandemic has had on TNR to get cats and kittens off the streets and prevent mother cats from becoming pregnant and giving birth in years to come.
Alley Cat Rescue is leading in the way in promoting humane and compassionate care for ALL cats.