Feline coronavirus (FCoV) is a highly contagious virus that is ubiquitous in multicat environments and may induce oxidative stress. This virus commonly causes an asymptomatic infection, which can persist in certain individuals. Sporadically and unpredictably, FCoV infection leads to feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a highly fatal systemic immune-mediated disease. There are no data in the veterinary literature relating to oxidative stress in FCoV. Antioxidant capacity (TAC) can be attributed to single components in the defence systems against free radicals. The measurement of the total oxidant status (TOS) accurately reflects the oxidative status of blood plasma or serum. Nitric oxide (NO) acts as a free radical and contributes to host defences against oxidation. Malondialdehyde (MDA) is a reliable and commonly used marker of overall lipid peroxidation levels and the presence of oxidative stress. This study aimed to determine levels of oxidative stress markers, serum TAC, total oxidant capacity (TOC), NO and serum MDA in 24 cats seropositive for FCoVs and 15 cats seronegative for FCoVs. Significantly higher serum TOC, NO and MDA levels were found in seropositive animals (P < 0.001, P < 0.05 and P < 0.001, respectively) than in seronegative animals. In contrast, serum TAC levels were found to be significantly lower in seropositive cats compared with seronegative cats (P < 0.001). The results of the present study suggest that FCoV seropositivity is associated with oxidative stress and decreased antioxidant status.

Recent studies demonstrated that domestic cats can be naturally and experimentally infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). This study was performed to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies within the domestic cat population in Istanbul, Turkey, before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, from 155 cat sera analyzed, 26.45% (41/155) tested positive in the spike protein-ELISA (S-ELISA), 28.38% (44/155) in the receptor-binding domain-ELISA (RBD-ELISA), and 21.9% (34/155) in both, the S- and RBD-ELISAs. Twenty-seven of those were also positive for the presence of antibodies to feline coronavirus (FCoV). Among the 34 SARS-CoV-2-positive sera, three of those were positive on serum neutralization assay. Six of the 30 cats before COVID-19 and 28 of the 125 cats during COVID-19 were found to be seropositive. About 20% of ELISA-positive cats exhibited mainly respiratory, gastrointestinal, and renal signs and skin lesions. Hematocrit, hemoglobin, white blood cells, lymphocyte, and platelet numbers were low in about 30% of ELISA-positive cats. The number of neutrophils and monocytes were above normal values in about 20% of ELISA-positive cats. The liver enzyme alanine aminotransferase levels were high in 23.5% ELISA-positive cats. In conclusion, this is the first report describing antibodies specific to SARS-CoV-2 antigens (S and RBD) in cats in Istanbul, Turkey, indicating the risk for domestic cats to contract SARS-CoV-2 from owners and/or household members with COVID-19. This study and others show that COVID-19-positive pet owners should limit their contact with companion animals and that pets with respiratory signs should be monitored for SARS-CoV-2 infections.

BackgroundThe aim of this study was to determine the bacterial species recovered from 61 cats with lower urinary tract infection (LUTI), and their susceptibility to cefovecin in vitro.ResultsThe clinical signs and final clinical diagnosis for cats with confirmed LUTI were also reported. After physical examination of the cats, urine samples including ≥5-6 leucocytes in microscopic evaluation were cultured using bacteriological techniques. The isolates were identified by conventional microbiological methods and tested for in vitro susceptibility using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method recommended by the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute. Bacterial growth was observed in 16 of 61 urine samples. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed that 13 of 16 (81%) isolates were susceptible to cefovecin. The most frequently isolated bacterium from cats with signs of lower urinary tract infection, was Escherichia coli.ConclusionCefovecin was found to be effective in cats with LUTI. Because cefovecin is a new antimicrobial agent in veterinary medicine, there are only few studies about urine culture of cats with LUTI. It is the first study on in vitro activity of cefovecin against bacterial isolates from cats with lower urinary infections in Istanbul, Turkey.

Giardia intestinalis (G. lamblia, G. duodenalis) is a common protozoan in human and other mammals worldwide causing diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, weight loss and dehydration. The major infection occurs via directly faecal-oral route or indirectly contaminated food and water consumption. Dogs can carry the zoonotic genotypes of Giardia without any clinical signs and contaminate the environment. Asymptomatic carrier dogs living in the same environment with humans, food and water contaminated with these dogs' faeces can be a source of infection for humans. The aim of this review is to emphasize the asymptomatic course of Giardia spp. infections in dogs and to evaluate the effects of asymptomatic carriage on human health and the environment.

Ascites is one of the complications in cirrhosis. Prognosis depends on systemic hemodynamics. This study was designed for determination of the liver and kidney hemodynamics in dogs with ascites via Doppler Ultrasonography (USG). 20 dogs with ascites and 10 healthy dogs were included. CBC, biochemical profile, USG and Doppler measurement were taken. Increased hepatic and renal RI and PI were statistically significant (p Less than 0,01-0,001). There were positive correlations between ALP and hepatic PI, between urea and renal RI, negative correlations between ALP and renal RI, between creatinine and hepatic and renal PI values (p less than 0,05-0,01). In conclusion, liver and kidney Doppler findings will help determination of the prognosis and implementation of effective treatment.

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Toxoplasma gondii, which can cause a variety of symptoms, is a protozoan widely distributed around the world. Due to a suppressed immune response, reactivation of this disease can cause mortality. We designed a cohort study for the alterations in clinical course, laboratory findings, and presence of FeLV and FIV. We created two groups (Groups I and II). Group I contained 11 cats diagnosed with clinical toxoplasmosis. Group II included 15 healthy seronegative cats. We based our diagnosis of toxoplasmosis on the presence of the following clinical signs: a fourfold increase in immunoglobulin G for Toxoplasma gondii, presence of clinical signs, differential diagnosis of other causes and positive response to treatment with clindamycin hydrochloride. We found significant differences in erythrocyte, leukocyte, hemoglobin, and hematocrit levels between the groups (respectively P = 0.05, P < 0.001, P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The mean leukocyte counts of Group I was 37985 µL. After treatment, we determined significant differences in leukocyte (P < 0.05) and trombocyte (P < 0.05). Although all cats in Group I were found negative for FeLV and FIV, six cats had other disorders. As a result, we concluded that severe clinical signs might occur in the absence of FIV and FeLV more frequently than previously thought. Further research must be performed on the diagnostic utility of resistant and severe leukocytosis in clinical toxoplasmosis.

Doppler ultrasonography is one of the tools that started to use recently in human and veterinary medicine for this purpose. Currently, there are many studies to investigate methods of earlier diagnosis of prognosis of renal and hepatic diseases. However there is stil no consensus among researchers about the normal values. To our knowledge no systematical research exits revealing the normal values of Kangal breed dogs. Our purpose in this research is to determine the normal renal and hepatic doppler values of Kangal breed. For this purpose, 30 Turkish Kangal dogs and 20 healty dogs from several breeds were included to the study. The mean value of renal resistive index (RI) and pulsative index (PI) were 0,65±0,04 and 1.13±0,05 for Turkish Kangal dogs; 0,64±0,08 and 1.12±0,05 for different breed dogs. For the hepatic RI and PI values 0,65±0,04 and, 1.16±0,03 for Turkish Kangal dogs; 0.63±0,04 and 1.15±0.04 for different breed dogs respectively. The hepatic and renal PI and RI values of Kangal dogs were found to be compatible with other breeds.