Humans only discovered that cats can get the flu in 2004?

The outbreak of bird flu in Thailand in 2004 finally made the zoological community seriously aware of the problem for the first time: cats, too, can get the flu.

A domestic cat ate a dead pigeon and just 120 hours later the cat had a fever of 41° and suffered convulsions.

This cat, which left no name, had a landmark impact on the zoological community: after dissecting the dead cat and grinding its tissues for implantation in live experimental chickens, researchers came to the conclusion, which shocked the zoological community, that the cat produced the influenza virus.

Before this experiment, humans believed that cats were natural antibodies to the influenza virus.

Please note that we are talking about viral influenza here, not "cat flu" as cat owners often refer to the term.

Briefly, influenza is caused by a virus, while feline influenza is not a disease but a syndrome that refers to the upper respiratory tract of cats.

Humans have long believed that domestic cats are resistant to influenza viruses

In the 5,500 years or so of human-cat ownership, one of the greatest impressions cats have left on humans is their strong resistance.

This has had a profound impact on the animal medical community. In particular, humans remained deeply convinced until the beginning of the 21st century that cats are natural antibodies to the influenza virus.

We briefly review the following major human discoveries about viral influenza in cats in the last 20 years.

In 2004, humans confirmed for the first time that cats can be infected with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

In 2009, humans first confirmed that cats can be infected with the H1N1 influenza virus.

In 2010, humans discovered that cats can be infected with the H3N2 virus.

In 2010, humans discovered that cats can be infected with H3N2 subtype CIV.

In 2016, humans discovered for the first time that cats carry the H7N2 influenza virus.

We always say that humans do not know the ocean as well as the universe, but in fact, humans do not know cats very well either

Human-animal medicine, the study of cats, is lagging.

Around 1962, humans made the first "modern cat food", yes, the biscuit-like cat food you are feeding your cat.

Today, the technology for making dry cat food has not evolved from the steam engine to the internal combustion engine as it did in 1962.

The 2004 study of the feline influenza virus led the zoological community, especially those focusing on pets, to ask: What was it that prevented humans from discovering early that cats could develop the flu virus?

Several more mainstream views have emerged.

Evolutionary evolution of the virus, meaning that the evolution of influenza viruses has resulted in previous viruses not affecting cats and newer viruses affecting cats.

A general decrease in resistance in cats due to changes in pet diets, and changes in overall environmental pollution (but it is worth noting that the cat that died from the influenza virus in 2004 died from eating pigeons, and this cat was not a long-term mono-consumer of cat food)

The backwardness of medical technology before the 21st century was not sufficient to allow human research on cats to reach a deeper level (allow for direct spitefulness here: there was no research, as cats are not economic animals.)

The short history of human research on the above viruses. Several of the viruses mentioned above are unfamiliar to humans as a whole, and even the earliest pathogens of some viruses have not been finally identified to date.

Behind man's overconfidence in cats: 20th-century research has somewhat neglected cats, which are not economic animals

Taking cattle as an example, human research on cattle in the 20th century was profound.

Today, with current human technology, it is even possible to treat cattle with "biomedical treatment".

Because cattle have produced a series of giant industries including milk, beef, fertilizer, leather products, and so on.

And cats?

Sorry, there is no cat milk industry for cats, no cat meat industry, no fertilizer industry, and cat skin is not useful to humans.

In the 20th century, when medicine was developing rapidly, the field of animal medicine, and human research on cats was indeed slightly lacking. Not as much effort was put into it as people put into economic animals such as cattle, pigs, and sheep.

Humans can be said to be very confident in cats.

This is partly because cats themselves have a strong "healing power". Cats have a stronger innate resistance than many animals, especially in wound healing.

On the other hand, it is the natural ability of cats to hide disease that leads to human neglect. Any cat, instinctively, will hide the fact that it is sick, and for a cat to be seen by other animals, including people, with sickness can mean danger.

The good news is that in the last 20 years, human research on cats is rapidly advancing.

The animal medicine community, in particular, has gradually become more interested in cats.

This is because too many people have pet cats, and to prevent them from becoming "disease transmitters" the medical and biological communities have been increasing their research on pet cats.

If you are a cat lover and a young student, you can aspire to take up the path of cat research. If you are a cat lover and a young student, you can aspire to a career in cat research, and work hard on research to protect and cherish more cats.