title: Prevalence of upper respiratory pathogens in four management models for unowned cats in the Southeast United States.
abstract: Upper respiratory infection (URI) is a pervasive problem in cats and impacts the capacity and cost of sheltering programs. This study determined the pattern of respiratory pathogens in cats with and without clinical signs of URI in four different models for managing unowned cats, namely, (1) short-term animal shelters (STS), (2) long-term sanctuaries (LTS), (3) home-based foster care programs (FCP), and (4) trap-neuter-return programs for community cats (TNR). Conjunctival and oropharyngeal swabs from 543 cats, approximately half of which showed clinical signs of URI, were tested for feline herpes virus-1 (FHV), feline calicivirus (FCV), Chlamydia felis, Bordetella bronchiseptica, Mycoplasma felis, and canine influenza virus by real-time PCR. FHV (59%, 41%) and B. bronchiseptica (33%, 24%) were more prevalent in both clinically affected and nonclinical cats, respectively, in STS than other management models. FCV (67%, 51%) and M. felis (84%, 86%) were more prevalent in LTS than any other management model. Clinically affected cats in FCP were more likely to carry FHV (23%, 6%), C. felis (24%, 10%), or M. felis (58%, 38%) than were nonclinical cats. Clinically affected cats in TNR were more likely to carry FCV (55%, 36%) or C. felis (23%, 4%) than were nonclinical cats. The prevalence of individual pathogens varied between different management models, but the majority of the cats in each model carried one or more respiratory pathogens regardless of clinical signs. Both confined and free-roaming cats are at risk of developing infectious respiratory disease and their health should be protected by strategic vaccination, appropriate antibiotic therapy, effective biosecurity, feline stress mitigation, and alternatives to high-density confinement.
authors.affiliation: Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: McManus
authors.affiliation: Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA. Electronic address: levyjk@ufl.edu.
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.affiliation: Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Health Policy Research, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: McGorray
authors.affiliation: IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., West Sacramento, CA 95605, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Leutenegger
authors.affiliation: Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.affiliation: Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hilligas
authors.affiliation: Maddie's Shelter Medicine Program, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Tucker
mesh_terms: D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000821:virology; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D015144:Southeastern United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Animal shelter; Foster home; Sanctuary; Trap–neuter–return; Upper respiratory infection