EveryCat Health Foundation

Established in 1968 by The Cat Fanciers’ Association, the Winn Feline Foundation was created to provide a source of funding for medical studies to improve the health and well-being of cats and to disseminate the resulting information through educational resources. In 2020, the foundation was renamed EveryCat Health Foundation to broaden our appeal to the owners of the hundreds of millions of cats worldwide.

EveryCat Health Foundation is the world’s only nonprofit focused solely on feline health research. We award grants for cutting-edge research in feline medicine, ranging from clinically applicable proposals to long-shot investigations with game-changing potential.

Conducting at least two grant reviews annually, since 1968, EveryCat has funded over $9 million in grants representing groundbreaking health research that improves the lives of cats. EveryCat Health Foundation Board of Directors selects projects for funding based on the recommendations of the Scientific Review Committee. The Scientific Review Committee consists of veterinarians, scientific researchers, academicians, and industry advisors, who are selected based on their skills and expertise in various areas of research (e.g., statistics, medicine, surgery, cancer therapy, molecular biology, and diagnostics). To learn about the Request for Grant Proposals, visit the Grant Process page on EveryCat. All inquiries regarding the Grant process can be directed to grants@everycat.org.

EveryCat Grant Awards

Requests for proposals are to be submitted September—December 11th. The grant review session is held in March where elections for general health and stipulated research studies are awarded at this session with Grant Awards being announced in the late spring. Grant proposals are selected for funding based on strict criteria, including scientific merit, value to feline health, clinical relevance, budgetary soundness, and adherence to EveryCat’s Humane Guidelines.

Miller Trust Awards

In 2002, the George Sydney and Phyllis Redman Miller Trust designated EveryCat Health Foundation, then Winn Feline Foundation, as one of its advisor organizations. EveryCat has subsequently been provided an unprecedented opportunity to make annual recommendations for grant awards to the San Francisco Foundation, trustees of the Miller Trust. Requests for proposals begin in late spring with an August deadline, with grant awards announced in December. Miller-approved partnerships are with the following institutions:

  • University of California, Davis
  • Colorado State University
  • Cornell University
  • University of Illinois
  • Iowa State University
  • University of Minnesota
  • University of Missouri
  • The Ohio State University
  • University of Tennessee
  • Texas A&M University
  • Virginia/Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine

CaP-K Grant Awards

EveryCat Health Foundation, in a special funding opportunity co-sponsored by Nestlé Purina Petcare and Mars Petcare, is funding grants that address the effect that dietary phosphorus and calcium to phosphorus ratio have on renal health in cats, as well as biomarkers to detect early renal disease. 

Topics of Interest

  • The Impact of Dietary Phosphorus and Calcium (CaP-K) on Feline Kidney Health
  • Early Renal Disease Biomarkers

The overall goals are to provide evidence that will lead to scientific consensus on safe levels and types of dietary phosphorus for feline diets. High-priority areas that have been identified and will be given special consideration include:

  • Investigation of factors that influence phosphorus bioavailability and metabolism including source and form of phosphorus in foods.
  • Identification of biomarkers of renal injury (i.e., especially markers that detect early kidney changes before irreversible damage occurs).
  • Identification of in vitro assays that correlate with in vivo function of phosphorus sources.

Important areas of research EveryCat has been involved with include:

  • Identification of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and investigation of PCR as a diagnostic tool
  • Development of in-clinic screening tests for FeLV-infected cats
  • Evaluation of the feasibility and safety of early spay and neutering
  • Discovery of the link between taurine deficiency and feline dilated cardiomyopathy
  • Investigation of the biology of feline coronavirus and the epidemiology of feline infectious peritonitis as well as advances in diagnostics
  • Determination of the inheritance of feline blood groups and characterization of feline neonatal isoerythrolysis
  • Discovery of the gene causing feline polycystic kidney disease
  • Characterization of feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and identification of HCM as a heritable disease in Maine Coon cats and Ragdoll cats
  • Development of techniques to measure feline blood pressure
  • Determination of how to safely administer oral medications to cats
  • Determination of the need for a high protein/low carbohydrate canned diet for cats, especially in controlling diabetes mellitus in cats
  • Determination that aerosolized medications are efficacious in the treatment of asthma in cats
  • Discovery of the gene causing hypokalemia in Burmese cats
  • Discover of the mutation at the spike protein cleavage site and pathogenesis of feline coronavirus


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