There are fears a type of feline coronavirus may kill cat populations across the world if it continues to spread.
Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), which is not transmissible to humans, is estimated to have killed thousands of cats on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus in recent months.
So far just 107 cases of FIP have been officially recorded by the agriculture ministry in the southern part of the island, but experts think the true number is much higher owing to the country’s huge stray cat population.
Head of Cat Protection and Welfare Society (PAWS) Cyprus, and vice-president of Cyprus Voice for Animals, Dinos Ayiomamitis, said: ‘We have lost 300,000 cats since January from FIP.’
Cyprus is known by some as the ‘island of cats’ because it features the earliest known evidence of the domestication of the animal 9,500 years ago.
It is thought the island’s cat population is equal to, or even exceeds, the human population of around one million.
Felines on both sides of the island – which has been split between Greece and Turkey since 1974 – have been affected by FIP.
Symptoms of the disease include fever, abdominal swelling, weakness, and occasionally aggressiveness. It is highly infectious among cats.
Mr Ayiomamitis fears for the roughly 60 cats he has been feeding at a cemetery in Nicosia, the Cypriot capital, for a quarter of a century.
The 70-year-old retiree added: ‘The colony is doing well, but we are worried because if one is infected, the others will be too.’
Very few corpses of the dead cats have been found, as when cats are sick they often self-isolate and die alone.
According to the vice president of the Pancyprian Veterinary Association, Demetris Epaminondas, more outbreaks are suspected in nearby Lebanon, Israel and Turkiye, but this is not yet confirmed.
There are two treatment options for FIP – anti-Covid pill molnupiravir, or antiviral tablet GS-441524, which is chemically similar to remdesivir used to treat Covid-19.
Molnupiravir has not been authorised for use on animals in Cyprus, but the otherantiviral tablets have been approved in the UK and for importation into the island.
They are expensive however at up to €7,000 (£6,000) per cat, and Mr Epaminondas has been pushing for approval of molnupiravir, which is much more affordable at €200 (£170).
The Agriculture Ministry said it was looking at all possible options to get the outbreak under control, but many have resorted to desperate measures to save their pets.
Some have resorted to clandestine methods to save their pets.
One anonymous Cypriot said: ‘We bought our medicines on the black market online, or from Facebook groups. But we keep our suppliers secret so that we can continue to treat our animals.’
Vasiliki Mani, 38, spent €3,600 (£3,000) to treat two stray cats with FIP recently.
She said: ‘I have spent all my savings. If FIP continues to spread, Cyprus will become the island of dead cats.’
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