In the 1970s and 1980s, MAF's funding provided insight into feline leukemia virus (FeLV). FeLV is the most common cause of cancer in cats and it also may cause blood disorders and immune deficiency that inhibits a cat's ability to protect itself against other infections. According to Cornell University, an estimated 2 to 3 percent of U.S. cats are afflicted, with rates of 13 percent or more in cats that are very young or already ill. Those percentages could have been much greater, however. Thanks to many studies into this disease, including those funded by MAF, scientists were able to develop the first vaccine for feline leukemia, which helps protect kittens and other cats from this serious virus.

Search our animal health studies database for more MAF successes and current studies for cats.