| Summary: | Feline leishmaniosis (FeL) is an emerging vector-borne feline disease, with increasing numbers of cases reported and studies performed internationally. This study aimed to update the epidemiological status for FeL<i> </i>in stray cats in Milan, northern Italy; compare these results with previous studies in Northern Italy; and report clinicopathologic findings and coinfections in cats infected with <i>Leishmania</i><i> </i>spp. A total of 117 cats were tested for <i>L. infantum</i><i> </i>and retrovirus<i> </i>infection, hematological, and biochemical parameters. Demographic and clinical data were collected and FeL affected cats screened for selected coinfections. Overall, 10/117 (8.6%) cats tested positive for <i>L. infa</i><i>n</i><i>tum</i>: in five cats <i>L. infantum</i> DNA was found in popliteal lymph nodes and five were IFAT seropositive at titers from 1:80 to 1:160. Infected cats were concentrated in a specific area of Milan (<i>p</i><i> </i>= 0.0154). No specific clinicopathologic abnormalities or retroviral infections were significantly linked to the infection, other than hypergammaglobulinemia (<i>p</i><i> </i>= 0.0127). Seroreactivity to <i>Anaplasma</i><i> </i><i>phagocytophilum</i>, <i>Chlamydophila </i><i>felis</i><i>,</i> and <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> was found in some infected cats. A high prevalence of FeL was found in a non-endemic area of northern Italy and future studies should continually monitor this data to understand whether these cases are imported or if <i>Leishmania</i> vectors are present in this area.
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