New Cat Contraceptive via Annual Injections can Curb Feline Overpopulation

Through annual injections alone, a recently discovered cat contraceptive can reduce feline overpopulation.

Around 600 million domestic cats are thought to exist worldwide, and 80% of those cats are stray or wild cats.

Cats that have been spayed or neutered help avoid abandoned kittens and crammed animal shelters.

Eliminating feral cat populations also lessens the likelihood that these animals would hunt and feed on birds, small mammals, and reptiles.

Currently, long-lasting injections that block ovulation have been proposed by scientists as a viable new way of contraception for cats.

Feline Overpopulation

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden's Dr. William Swanson stated the proof-of-concept study was motivated by the need to address the problem of cat and dog overpopulation and the widespread slaughter of these animals in shelters.

The easiest method to prevent euthanasia is to not have so many homeless animals.

Swanson co-authored a paper with several other coworkers that was published in the journal Nature as a corresponding author.

Cat Contraception

A remarkable finding was made by Dr. David Pépin and his colleagues while researching a hormone present in ovarian follicles.

They saw a striking result after injecting several female mice with the gene that makes this hormone: the animals lost the ability to reproduce as soon as their ovarian activity stopped.

Pépin's research, which he contributed to as a co-senior and corresponding author, sheds light on a potential novel feline contraception strategy.

Pépin and his associates discovered the Michelson Found Animals Foundation, a nonprofit organization located in Los Angeles that promotes the creation of nonsurgical methods of contraception for cats and dogs.

Swanson claims that the Cincinnati Zoo has the largest collection of wild cats in North America, which includes lions, tigers, and small sand cats.

Behind the scenes, a study colony of about 45 domestic cats that are more familiar to humans resides at the zoo.

The majority of these animals are used as research subjects. The group also studies the welfare of cats.

The investigators used nine female cats for the contraceptive trial.

Six cats received injections of the hormone-related gene coupled with a mild virus, while three served as the control group.

The muscle cells, which have a very long lifespan, are where the virus enters.

The insertion of this gene did not change the genomes of the cats.

The hormone that stops the formation of ovarian follicles is nonetheless produced by the cats as a result of the gene.

The cats cannot become pregnant because they cannot ovulate without these cells maturing around the egg, according to ABC12 News.

Annual Injections, No Operations

For two years, the researchers checked the hormone levels in the cats' pee and feces three times each week.

Two years after the injection, they discovered higher amounts of the hormone in the cats. But the researchers brought in two male cats to see if those increased hormone levels would indeed prevent conception.

None of the six cats injected with the gene became pregnant, in contrast to the three cats in the control group.

Swanson noted that although these preliminary results indicate promise as a new method of cat contraception, cat owners will need to exercise patience because it will probably take several years for the process to obtain the necessary authorizations to become accessible in veterinary offices and for the injections to be produced.

The lady cats from the research are currently being enlisted for caring households in the Cincinnati region, where their new owners may bring them back to the zoo for annual checkups to study how their hormones change over time and check for any negative effects, CNN reported.