Pulse - September 2024 - 11

stems from a mutation of the feline coronavirus.
That virus does not infect humans.
Stokes Pharmacy recently agreed
with BOVA Labs
to work
in the United Kingdom
to compound the drug in the United States.
Because it is compounded the FDA can't approve
it, but it has indicated that it will look the other
way because FIP has no other treatment.
" If it wasn't for cats, " Dale said, " we wouldn't
have this first treatment for COVID. "
Millennials Love Their Pets
Cats are definitely having a moment culturally
in the U.S.
Much of that is due to millennials and Generation
Z, Dale said.
" Millennials and Gen Zers are as passionate
about their pets as their iPhones, " he said.
" Millennials are the most influential generation
ever. They are influencing their parents'
decisions and those of their two-legged children.
They're willing to spend on services in
veterinary medicine, more than ever before.
This is true across the board. "
The greatest number of pet owners in America
are millennials and Gen Zers, he noted.
" More and more are deciding not to have
a child with two legs but celebrating the ones
with four. There are more blended families
now, and couples are getting together later in
life, when they already have a pet or pets when
they get together. "
Dale said there are 85 million pets in America,
which means that 67% of U.S. homes have a pet.
Pet ownership has increased over 20% since
1988, and nearly 90% of home-owning millennials
have at least one pet. Thirty-five percent of
all pet owners are millennials, he said.
More people acquired pets during the
pandemic.
Even before the coronavirus struck, pet
ownership was gradually climbing. By 2018,
many veterinary professionals were
feeling
overworked, Dale said. When the pandemic
arrived and we were confined to home, many
people responded by adopting animals.
" During the pandemic, shelters all over
were cleared out. It was wonderful, " Dale
said. " The number of adoptions escalated
beyond what people had expected. And it
PULSE
SEPTEMBER 2024
wasn't just dogs and cats -- you couldn't find
a leopard gecko. "
Recent times have been good for the feline
persuasion.
In August, the annual CatCon event was
held over two days in Pasadena, California,
drawing just over 12,000 attendees; adult entry
cost about $50. CatCon describes itself as a
part expo, part symposium and an all-cat celebration.
Since its inception in 2015, the event
has welcomed over 100,000 attendees. For this
year's event, 184 exhibitors staffed booths and
more than 200 cats and kittens were adopted.
Good News for Community Cats
More good news for cats is that there is growing
understanding of the value of community cat
programs, said Kate Hurley, DVM, MPVM,
Ph.D., director of the University of California,
Davis, Shelter Medicine program.
" Outside of shelters, there is increasingly
recognition of the many benefits of trap/
neuter/return programs, " she said. " In many
places, cats that used to be taken to shelters
as strays are now vaccinated, neutered and
returned to their communities.
" More places are implementing community
cat programs rather than impounding the cats.
One in 10 people take care of community cats, "
she said. " They value those cats at the same level
as cat owners. They are deeply attached. "
Appreciation is growing that the best way
to mitigate risk for these cats is TNR, she
said, a big shift over the last decade and a half.
Dr. Hurley is also co-founder of the Million
Cat Challenge. Begun in 2014, the shelterbased
campaign originally aimed to save the
lives of 1 million cats in North America over
five years. Its cornerstone is community cat
programs, and it achieved its goal more than
a year ahead of schedule.
" Shelters that saw the biggest gains relied
on community cat programs, " she said. The
program has continued, and more than 3
million cats have been saved, compared to participating
shelters' own baselines.
" And euthanasia of cats in California is less
than a fifth of what it was in 2010, largely due
to community cat programs, " she said.
The Million Cat Challenge is a joint projPolitics
invaded CatCon in reaction to a vice
presidential candidate's critical comment
about " childless cat ladies. "
Photo credit: Marilyn Iturri
11
The cat population
is expected to
increase even more
dramatically, from
65 million to more
than 82 to 100 million.
Compare that to 72.9
million children in
U.S. Already more
pets than children and
the number of pets
on the rise; number
of children on the
decline.
AVMA, December 2020 Pet
Populations Are on the Way Up
Pulse - September 2024

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