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Home / Animal Groups / Dogs & Cats

Animal Group: Dogs & Cats

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?

Dogs play an important role in ensuring medicines are safe before they are approved for clinical trials.

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.

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.

Explore Dogs & Cats by Species

Cat Thumbnail

Cat

Cats are crucial in neuroscience, ophthalmology, retrovirus, and inherited disease research. They uniquely replicate Alzheimer's pathology, aiding veterinary and human medical advancements in various diseases. Read More →

Dog Thumbnail

Dog

Dogs, while less commonly used in research, play a vital role in cancer and spinal cord injuries due to similarities with humans. They are also crucial in drug safety studies, benefiting both human and canine health. Read More →

Animals in Research

Exercise Time

Dogs love to run and play. This dog is housed with another dog with plenty of room to run and play. Safe…

Animals in Research

Naptime

Gus and Frank, like most dogs, enjoy interacting with each other. They live in the same enclosure and love to nap together.…

Animals in Research

Love Letters Series - Brick in the Wall

Brick in the Wall (2017) is part of the Love Letter Series which connects the inspiring and impactful stories of patients’ lives…

Animals in Research

A Home for Louie

Louie the hound is adopted after he completes his work as an asthma study subject. Robert J. Adams, DVM, Associate Provost for…

Animals in Research

Love, Care, Progress

Love, Care, Progress: Research Involving Dogs is the inaugural video in the Love, Care, Progress series, focused on the important role of…

Animals in Research

Beagle Playing with Kong

Beagles have been important for many medical advancements, from understanding body systems and disease processes to the development of new medicines and…

Animals in Research

A Boy's Best Friend

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a debilitating genetic condition that affects 1 in every 3,500-5,000 boys born worldwide. Golden retrievers have a spontaneously…

Animals in Research

Cat Kisses

Housing for these cats includes blankets, raised beds, scratching posts, and toys. The cats enjoy playing with each other and especially love…

Animals in Research

Cat Housing

Cat housing takes into consideration their social, psychological and behavioral needs. Cats do well in compatible social groups with the ability to…

Animals in Research

Sadie the Research Cat

Sadie is part of a research study to develop more effective analgesics for cats. There are very few analgesics approved for cats…

Animals in Research

pooltime

Socializing with other dogs, human interaction, and playtime are very important aspects in ensuring a good environment for research dogs. This is…

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