Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with tick-borne relapsing fever showing seizures and tremors
By Shwartz, Dor et al.·Published in Research in veterinary science·2026·Koret School of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Neurological manifestations in a cat with tick-borne relapsing fever caused by Borrelia persica.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 14-year-old female domestic cat suddenly developed sensitivity to touch and head tremors, which quickly progressed to seizures within eight hours. After being diagnosed with tick-borne relapsing fever caused by Borrelia persica, the cat was treated with antibiotics, including marbofloxacin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. Thankfully, her neurological symptoms improved within 48 hours of starting treatment, and the infection was cleared from her bloodstream. This case highlights the potential for serious neurological issues in cats due to this tick-borne disease.
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Abstract
Tick-borne relapsing fever is an acute, potentially life-threatening, infectious disease affecting humans and animals. Relapsing fever (RF) caused by Borrelia persica has been reported to cause severe meningitis in humans, but neurological abnormalities associated with it have not been previously reported in cats. A 14-year-old female spayed domestic cat was diagnosed with RF borreliosis. It acutely developed general hyperesthesia and head tremors and deteriorated to having generalized tonic-clonic seizures within eight hours of the initial neurologic signs. These neurological abnormalities resolved within 48 h of initiating antibiotic treatment which included marbofloxacin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid and the spirochetemia was cleared. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) performed on DNA from whole blood confirmed the diagnosis of B. persica infection while other feline infectious diseases were ruled out. In vitro cultivation of B. persica from the cat's blood was successful and the isolate was passaged 10 times until frozen at -80 °C. This is the first report of neurological manifestations occurring in a cat with tick-borne relapsing fever. Further research is needed to understand the pathogenesis of B. persica as a possible cause of neuroborreliosis in cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41985201/