Feline upper respiratory infection (URI) is the most common infectious disease in cat shelters, causing significant individual suffering and high rates of euthanasia in overcrowded facilities.
URI in shelters represents both individual welfare harm - the discomfort of eye and nasal discharge, mouth ulcers and lethargy - and a systemic welfare problem that reduces shelter capacity and increases euthanasia rates. Vaccination, isolation protocols, reducing crowding and stress, and treating affected cats promptly are all welfare interventions that benefit both individual cats and the shelter population.