Morris Animal Foundation (MAF), a nonprofit organization in Denver that funds humane research to benefit pets and wildlife worldwide, invited CAT FANCY to participate in a steering committee of eight feline experts for its Happy Healthy Cat Campaign, which will launch this November.

There are more than 90 million pet cats in the United States, making them America’s No. 1 pet. Yet cats are taken to the veterinarian half as much as dogs and far fewer feline studies are funded than canine studies. For example, in 2008, MAF funded 41 canine and 17 feline studies.

“Even if we get the funding, can we get the researchers?” asked Patricia Olson, DVM, president and chief executive officer of MAF. Historically there’s been a shortage of feline researchers, she said.

MAF brought the committee together to develop a plan to turn the trend around. The nonprofit sought CAT FANCY’s input into consumer attitudes toward cats and their health. Cat people have just as strong a bond with their pets as dog people, but cats are experts at hiding illness. This is a survival technique from the wild, so they wouldn’t be seen as easy prey to their predators. By the time we notice signs of illness in cats, they could have a disease in its advanced state.

Yet how many of us who live with cats dread that drive to the vet?  With our cats in their carriers howling, how many of us turn up the radio volume? (My cats like smooth jazz.)

As territorial creatures, cats object to being taken away from their turf. As challenging as it is though, it’s important to get them there annually for a blood test (twice a year for seniors) so that if disease is detected it can be treated early.

CAT FANCY readers already are savvy when it comes to routine health screening and feline health care. Our goal is to motivate them is to spread the word.

MAF will establish a Coalition for Feline Genomic Research in an effort to develop a more proactive research model. Hill’s Pet Nutrition donated $1 million and its entire database of 3 million variations in the feline DNA sequence to help find breakthroughs in the genetic diseases cats suffer from. To learn more about the DNA sequence data to advance feline health, click here.

Campaign participants included Founding Director of the Cornell Feline Health Center Fred Scott, CatChannel.com Veterinary Expert Arnold Plotnick, Catnip Editor Arden Moore, The Humane Society of the United States Feral Cat Program Manager Nancy Peterson, Cat Writers’ Association Founder Amy Shojai, Professor of Medicine and Nutrition at the University of Tennessee’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital Joe Bartges, and MAF Donor and Fundraiser Ann Moore.


From left to right: Nick Yorchak,
Amy Shojai, Arnold Plotnick, DVM;
Arden Moore, Heidi Jeter, Tina Martinez,
Nancy Peterson, Susan Logan, Fred Scott.