‘VERY SERIOUS’

Cats Get Human Anti-COVID Pills Amid Outbreak

Thousands of cats have died from the illness.

Cats in Cyprus are being treated with anti-COVID pills originally intended to be used by humans after an outbreak of a contagious strain of feline coronavirus has left thousands of animals dead. A rise in cases of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP)—which is caused by feline coronavirus—was first noticed in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, in January. Since then, local veterinary authorities say the virus has spread across the whole island. Although the pathogen is not related to COVID-19 and can’t be contracted by humans, the treatment currently being shipped to vets has shown to be effective in cats with cases of FIP. Cyprus’ Cat Protection and Welfare Society (PAWS) recently claimed that around 300,000 domestic and stray cats had died with the illness since January, but vets say the true figure is more likely to be around 8,000 in the first half of 2023. “It’s just not true that we are an island of dead cats, but what is happening is very serious,” Pancyprian Veterinary Association President Nektaria Ioannou Arsenoglou told The Guardian.