Hello kitty, goodbye kittens? Gene therapy spays cats without surgery
Tuesday, June 6, 2023 - 10:33
in Health & Medicine
Experts call it the holy grail of pet contraception: a single shot or pill that would permanently sterilize cats and dogs without the need for expensive and time-consuming spay/neuter surgery. Scientists have struggled to develop such a product for more than 20 years, but every effort has failed—until now. In a study published today in Nature Communications , researchers report a gene therapy approach that appears to prevent conception in female cats with no apparent side effects. A single shot keeps felines kitten-free for almost 2 years, and possibly much longer. “This research is a huge leap—we’re really excited about it,” says Joyce Briggs, president of the Alliance for Contraception...