Feline calicivirus is a highly contagious respiratory and oral disease virus causing significant suffering in affected cats, particularly in shelter populations where transmission is rapid.
Calicivirus causes significant oral pain through ulceration that prevents normal eating and grooming. Virulent systemic strains cause acute and severe suffering with high mortality. Shelter cats are particularly vulnerable given high population density and stress-induced immune suppression. Managing FCV in shelter settings requires robust vaccination, appropriate disinfection protocols, and stress reduction. Cats with oral ulceration from calicivirus experience pain that is often inadequately recognized and treated, representing a welfare gap that improved pain management protocols can address.