Cat Welfare Trust

In the 1990s, Ringworm was considered a very worrying problem, as there was only one treatment, the anti-fungal, Griseofulvin, that had some serious side effects in cats, including birth defects, and which has now been superseded by safer anti-fungal drugs. 

The funded project was a 3 year PhD to research the possibility of a vaccine to prevent ringworm, and was undertaken by Ann Robinson BA BVSc CertSAD MVS at the Feline Centre (Langford) at the University of Bristol. The project lasted for 3 years, and was directed at understanding the immune responses which can protect cats from infection with ringworm, and hopefully develop a vaccine.

The project enabled a better understanding of the immune responses which protect immune cats.  This resulted in a pharmaceutical company collaborating with the research group and continuing the vaccine work with the aim of developing a commercial product.  In addition the company provided funding to allow the research to continue at Langford.  Without the initial funding by the CWT, none of this would have been possible.

This project was a 2 year grant to Dr Matthew Binns, working in the Genetics Department at the Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, to enable him to assemble a set of genetic markers to be used for future studies on mapping inherited disease and phenotypic traits in the cat. 

This project pre-dates the mapping of the cat genome by Joan U. Pontius in 2007.

The initial aim was to obtain and test a set of 252 cat microsatellite markers spanning the cat genome.  The second objective involved testing DNA samples from an extended Abyssinian cat pedigree, looking for possible markers for a dominant blindness condition, PRA (progressive retinal atrophy), for which there is now an accurate DNA test.

This research resulted in the identification and analysis of 211 markers on the feline genome map.  The result of this work was also used successfully in a conservation project on the European Lynx, looking at reintroduced populations of the species in Switzerland.

This study commenced in 2004 and concluded in 2007.  It was undertaken by  Katharine Healey BVSc MRCVS at The Department of Veterinary Clinical Science & Veterinary Pathology, University of Liverpool. 

The aims of the study were to determine the prevalence of FCGS in the vet-visiting cat population, and the possible risk factors for FCGS in cats.  The project comprised a case control study carried out at veterinary practices, and was based on a sample of cats visiting first opinion small animal vet practices.  Twelve practices took part, providing a sample population of 4,858 cats.  The second part of the project comprised a case control study carried out in pedigree cat households.

Pedigree cat owners were made aware of the study via a display at the Supreme Show and through GCCF clubs.  241 cats were sampled from 20 different breeds.

Clinical signs were similar in the pedigree samples to those in the veterinary practice study.  The source of the cat, and a past history of respiratory disease were found to be significant risk factors for the disease.

The aim of this study was to characterise the genes responsible for a key component of the immune system in cats, and how they vary between different breeds and random bred cats.

The study began in 2011, and was to be undertaken by Professor Tim Gruffydd-Jones, Professor of Feline Medicine at University of Bristol; Dr Lorna Kennedy, Senior Scientist at the Centre for Integrated Genomic Medical Research at University of Manchester and Dr Leslie Lyons, Professor of Genetics at UC Davis.

The initial focus of the work was development of techniques for generating MHC gene sequences.  The project proved more difficult than originally anticipated, although significant progress was made. Unfortunately, completion was delayed by health problems experienced by one of the researchers.

The Russian Blue Breeders Association requested assistance with funding towards an inbreeding survey, to investigate the size of their breed’s gene pool in what is a minority breed and where limited use is made of an outcross.

The survey was conducted by Cecelia Penedo at UC Davis, and the CWT Trustees made a grant of £1,500 towards the project to enable the RBBA to double the number of cats in the study to 60. A website page was set up for participants to log into with their details, which provided information on how to take the swabs and mailing details.  Individual information provided by participants was confidential to UC Davis.

In 2016 the good news was that the study concluded that the Russian Blue breed has genetic diversity that was commensurate with Siberians and Norwegian Forest Cats worldwide.  Link to Cecelia Penedo’s Report.

In 2016, the Trust was approached by Veterinary Cardiologist David Connolly, Senior Lecturer in Cardiology at the Royal Veterinary College. Their Cardiology group had a particular interest in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and had published widely on this subject. The Trust was asked for funding to help with an exciting project – to identify the genetic architecture promoting the development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in British Short Hair Cats, to enable assessment of a novel therapeutic agent.

The study lasted until 2024 (with Covid causing significant delays).  Although a specific candidate gene for HCM in BSH cats was not identified, results confirm the complex nature of the genetic architecture of HCM in the BSH breed. It is becoming increasingly clear that the presence of a monogenic variant causing HCM, which is frequently seen in human HCM, does not pertain to most cases of HCM in cats and that the Maine Coon and Ragdoll results (MYBPC3 variants) may actually be the exception rather than the rule.

However, this extensive study identified genetic variants in affected cats associated with fibrosis, immune and inflammatory response.  Fibrosis is a key component of HCM and understanding the impact of fibrosis (potentially secondary to an immune response) may lead to potential future therapies for this condition.

In 2024, the Cat Welfare Trust agreed to support funding of £55,350 over 4 years, for research into the outbreak of FIP in Cyprus in 2023.

This project is designed as a PhD (4 years) for Dr Maria Lyraki DVM MSc DipECVIM-CA MRCVS, an EBVS and RCVS Recognised Specialist in Small Animal Internal Medicine at Plakentia Veterinary Clinic, Athens, to be undertaken at the University of Veterinary Sciences Brno, Czech Republic.  She will be a PhD student based in Greece and Cyprus.

Working in collaboration with Roslin Institute, the University of Edinburgh, the Pancyprian Veterinary Association, high-tech companies (e.g., Oxford Nanopore Technologies), the Microsampling Laboratory Ltd in the UK and the Vet Diagnosis Laboratory in Cyprus.  Dr Christine Tait-Burkard and her team are currently sequencing FCoVs from the outbreak and comparing them to strains from Cyprus before the outbreak, and to strains from other countries.

Initial results from sequencing have already been submitted for publication and indicate a novel strain of a highly pathogenic FCoV-CCoV (canine coronavirus) recombinant responsible for the rapidly spreading FCoV-23 outbreak. The recombination spanning spike shows 97% sequence identity to the pantropic canine coronavirus CB/05.

The research proposal is aiming to address issues concerning the FCoV-23 outbreak in Cyprus, but also to help all cats with the traditional form of FIP worldwide and potentially being useful for COVID-19 patients too.