Covid pills help Chinese cats beat deadly disease

In post-pandemic China, human Covid-19 antiviral medications are being repurposed to treat cats suffering from a deadly disease caused by a feline coronavirus.

Cat owners are turning to Lagevrio, an antiviral developed by the US-based Merck & Co., to combat feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a fatal condition that previously had no easily accessible treatment, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

This practice has sparked widespread discussion on social media, particularly on Xiaohongshu, China's version of Instagram, where thousands of cat lovers are sharing how these drugs saved their pets and helped them avoid expensive veterinary bills.

"Covid-19 drugs for humans saved my cat’s life," wrote one user on Xiaohongshu. "I share the notes here to teach more people to save their furry babies and reduce the pain suffered by cats."

In addition to foreign antiviral drugs, some pet owners are opting for similar, more affordable Covid medications developed by Chinese companies such as Henan Genuine Biotech Co, Simcere Pharmaceutical Group Ltd, and Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co.

A spokesperson for Merck stated in an email to Bloomberg News that the company has not tested its drug on cats and has no plans to do so.

This trend contrasts with the early stages of the pandemic when the use of ivermectin—an animal drug for parasitic worms—by humans in the US led the FDA to issue a warning: "You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Stop it."

Feline infectious peritonitis is caused by a feline coronavirus that infects white blood cells and spreads throughout the cat’s body, causing inflammatory reactions. Without treatment, FIP is fatal. While effective antiviral treatments have emerged, they are not widely available. The most popular option, GS-441524, developed by Gilead Sciences, is not FDA-approved, and cat owners often turn to the black market for the drug, sometimes at exorbitant prices.

In China, where GS-441524 is typically bought through informal networks, the drug can cost tens of thousands of yuan. Many cat owners have reported receiving counterfeit versions from black-market suppliers. In contrast, human Covid antivirals are much more affordable. For example, a 40-pill bottle of Lagevrio is priced at 1,725 yuan ($235) online, which is enough to treat multiple cats.

Chinese pet owners have also begun feeding their cats human nutritional supplements, which they argue are cheaper than veterinary medications. "I don’t understand why medicines for pets are so expensive," one user commented on Xiaohongshu. "You just need to adjust the dosage of human medicines if you are going to use them on cats."

By Vafa Guliyeva