News media scaremongering about the possible spread of "coronavirus" from Cyprus to the UK

OPNION: I am annoyed at the news media again because they are creating click bait articles about the outbreak of FIP (feline infectious peritonitis) in Cyprus. FIP is a coronavirus but the way the articles are written they give the impression that FIP is a form of Covid-19 about which people are frightened. It is not.

The spotted cats of Cyprus. Not all cats on Cyprus are spotted (spotted tabby). Image: PoC.

Spotted Street Cats of Cyprus.

The news media is deliberately creating a frightening situation or scenario to get readers. The situation on Cyprus is not a problem for the UK because although FIP is contagious it requires direct contact between cat and cat and a transmission of, for example, saliva between those two cats for the infection to be transmitted between them. It can't be transmitted like Covid-19 in the air like a typical virus.

It's impossible to envisage a cat in Cyprus suffering from FIP transmitting the disease to a cat in the UK because there are thousands of miles apart! A cat on Cyprus might travel to the UK with their owner on an aeroplane and they might transmit the disease to one cat in the UK but that'll be about it. 

And, in any event, less than 1% of cats who catch FIP develop the fatal version and die. Most often the disease is asymptomatic or it creates mild symptoms. Cats with mild symptoms of FIP which they cure themselves end up being carriers. This is a concern obviously but we shouldn't be frightened about this outbreak in Cyprus.

What chance is there of the deadly cat coronavirus in Cyprus spreading to the UK?

And, in addition, the news media has grossly exaggerated as have the Cypriot authorities the number of cats dying of FIP in Cyprus. They have quoted the figure of 300,000 stray and domestic cats dying of the disease on that island. 

I decided that it was an impossible figure because if it's true there would have to be 30 million stray and domestic cats on the island and we know that there are about 1 million cats on Cyprus. 

The island is famous for two things: there are more cats in Cyprus than there are humans and, secondly, the earliest recorded domestic cat lived on Cyprus around 9500 years ago as judged by the unearthing of the skeleton of a tame wildcat next to their owner.

Your male cat looks like he is pregnant. Why?

This is a cross-post from one that I just wrote. I like to refer you to the original post which you can access by clicking on this link. The default position for a cat owner when faced with their male cat companion having a distended abdomen is to call their local veterinarian for a professional diagnosis.

Cat showing abdominal distension due to FIP

The reason is because there are a wide range of conditions which can cause this, the most common of which is probably feline infectious peritonitis, which is a very serious and fatal illness. There are other conditions, even including overeating or constipation or a blockage. It might be cancer or it might be a septic ascites. Ascites is a buildup of fluid on the abdomen. It occurs over a period of time and the most common causes feline infectious peritonitis.

CLICK THIS LINK FOR SOME PAGES ON FELINE INFECTIOUS PERITONITIS

A pretty comprehensive list is as follows:

1. Overeating;
2. Eating fermented foods;
3. Constipation;
4. Worm infestation, in kittens particularly;
5. Cushing’s disease;
6. Bowel obstruction;
7. Bowel obstruction;
8. Bladder outlet obstruction;
9. Abscessed uterus;
10. Acute gastric dilatation;
11. Heart failure and
12. Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP).

It is difficult for a non-qualified, in the medical profession, cat owner to talk about medical issues. All I can do is present some basic facts which might help to give some guidance as to what might be done. My reading of cats suffering from a bloated or distended abdomen is that it is possibly serious or even probably serious after you discount relatively straightforward issues such as constipation, overeating and eating fermented foods. Although constipation can be quite serious too (click for home treatment for constipation). The most common reason is the most serious: FIP, which is why I say you have to see a vet without delay.