Cyprus, a Mediterranean island famed for its picturesque streets, parks, and luxury resorts, is also home to a staggering one million free-roaming cats—nearly as numerous as its human inhabitants. However, this year, a deadly cat outbreak sent shockwaves through the island, drawing the attention of concerned residents and veterinarians alike.
Thousands of stray, feral, and pet cats fell victim to this mysterious malady. Their abdomens swelled dramatically, resembling bowling balls—a telltale sign of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a disease that, if left untreated, carries an almost 100 percent fatality rate. FIP is caused by a coronavirus specific to cats, distinct from the human-targeting SARS-CoV-2. While it can lurk in isolated indoor environments, it had never before surged across an entire island, claiming the lives of thousands of outdoor cats. In early 2023, confirmed FIP cases in Cyprus skyrocketed by a staggering 20-fold. The unprecedented nature of this outbreak sent shockwaves through the island’s cat-loving community and puzzled veterinarians worldwide.
It begged the question: Had something changed in the FIP virus? Was there a new strain at play? Or, as experts speculated, could the outbreak somehow be connected to the spread of COVID, caused by a coronavirus known to infect both humans and cats?
Remarkably, the global pandemic brought a silver lining for FIP: Treating this devastating cat disease suddenly became significantly more attainable. The two coronaviruses, despite their differences, share enough similarities that antiviral medications developed for COVID also prove highly effective against FIP—effectively serving as miraculous cures. Gary Whittaker, a virologist at Cornell University specializing in FIP research, described the outcome as akin to “bringing these cats back from the dead.”
