Dogs & Cats at a Glance

Although dogs and cats represent less than 0.5% of all animals needed in research, they remain crucial to studies to alleviate serious conditions that affect both people and animals.

Research with dogs has resulted in the development of insulin to treat diabetes, organ transplantation, heart disease therapies, medical interventions for orthopedic conditions and injuries, and treatments for many diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s, and muscular disorders.

Cats are a key model for medical advancements in treating heart disease, immunodeficiency, urinary bladder disease, neurological conditions, and visual impairments.

Did you Know?

Work with cats helped understand how the visual system needs light to develop - Nobel Prize in medicine in 1981.

Cats naturally infected with feline AIDS (FIV) are needed to study effective anti-viral treatments and vaccines for AIDS.

Dogs were crucial in understanding the role of insulin in diabetes.

Ivan Pavlov's studies with dogs provided the first detailed observations on how the digestive system works.

  • Cat

    Cats contribute to research in neuroscience, ophthalmology, retrovirus research, inherited diseases, and immunodeficiency diseases. Cats are a valuable model for the study… Read More ›

  • Dog

    Dogs, although one of the least common animals needed for research, are among the most important.  Many cancers in dogs are identical,… Read More ›