In Cyprus, there are as many cats as there are people. But the number of cats is declining. A variant of feline coronavirus that is deadly for cats has been spreading across the Mediterranean island.



Nicosia

In Cyprus, a variant of feline coronavirus, which is lethal to cats, is causing a decline in the country's cat population. The country, known for having as many cats as it has human residents, is facing a significant challenge as this virus spreads across the Mediterranean island.



Feline coronavirus raises fears in Cyprus

Marina Evreviadou has been taking her cats to the vet more often than usual. In her home country of Cyprus, an invisible danger has been wreaking havoc on her beloved pets. Feline Infectious Peritonitis, FIP for short, is a mutated feline coronavirus. One of Evreviadou's cats has succumbed to the infection. And I knew he was suffering and death was imminent. So I helped him along the way. I know people who have lost 50% of their cats to FIP. The first symptoms are fever and loss of appetite. Even what was once their favourite treats failed to tempt the infected cats. Residents in Cyprus have also noticed the animals have eye problems. They might have low energy. That's some signs that you can actually see. And in addition to this, you can also check for a sight, which means that you have a swollen abdomen. That's what the cat guardian will see. It's due to the accumulation of fluid in the abdomen. The coastal city of Limassol. Here you can see why Cyprus is called the island of cats. It's teeming with street cats. People in Cyprus love these animals. And many take care of them. The cats aren't driven out of the restaurants either. Most people are not afraid of infection, even after the reports of rampant FIP. No complaint has ever been made from customers about the cats, like that they got a disease or something. I mean, some don't like the cats. OK, we get it, but... Marina Evreviadou has been looking after the street cats in her hometown of Limassol for years. She now shares her home with 18 cats. When more and more cats fell victim to FIP last year, she and other animal rights activists demanded that the state hand over stocks of COVID medication. The government pharmacy sort of said, no, this is for humans. But we said, yes, but you're not using it, it's going to expire soon. Just give it to us for the cats. And they would refuse. And then the Association for the Vets and the vet services were trying to convince the government to give us the drug because the outbreak just kept increasing and increasing. And we were reaching cases of cats dying in hundreds. Thousands of cats are said to have died from the illness. Now the situation is apparently under control. But experts in Cyprus are receiving concerned queries from abroad. Could the mutation also be dangerous for humans? And could tourists bring the virus back to their home countries? The feline coronavirus caused a mutation that can be transmitted from cat to cat, not from cat to dog, from cat to cat. There is a concern of if we do have an outbreak in another country. But we haven't seen that so far. And we know for sure that there were cats going out of Cyprus to Germany or Netherlands, other countries as well. In the meantime, one case of FIP has been registered in the UK. Marina Evreviadou prefers to keep her cats indoors for the time being. This is because the cat population on the streets of Limassol cannot be adequately monitored. Who is? Who is Missy? Just like with the human COVID, there is a chance of the feline COVID to also mutate and have another outbreak maybe in five years. Evreviadou cannot vaccinate her cats against FIP because such a vaccine does not yet exist. What's more, cats can be reinfected again and again. Scientists from several countries are now researching ways to combat the deadly feline coronavirus so that Cyprus can continue to call itself the island of cats.

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