Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Survival of cat Tritrichomonas foetus in water urine food litter
By Rosypal, Alexa C et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2012·Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Survival of a feline isolate of Tritrichomonas foetus in water, cat urine, cat food and cat litter.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that a parasite called Tritrichomonas foetus, which can cause diarrhea in cats, can survive in various environments like water, cat urine, and different types of cat food. This parasite is spread through fecal-oral transmission, meaning it can be passed from one cat to another through contaminated surfaces or food. The research showed that the parasite could live in cat urine for up to three hours and in canned cat food for up to three hours as well, but it did not survive on cat litter. Keeping your cat's environment clean and monitoring for signs of diarrhea can help prevent infection.
People also search for: cat diarrhea causes · Tritrichomonas foetus in cats · how to prevent cat infections · cat food safety · cat urine health risks
Abstract
Feline intestinal trichomoniasis caused by Tritrichomonas foetus is associated with large bowel diarrhea in cats from many parts of the world. It has long been recognized as an economically important sexually transmitted disease that causes early abortion in cattle. Isolates of T. foetus from cattle are infectious for the large intestine of cats and isolates of T. foetus from cats are infectious for the reproductive system of cattle. The parasite is maintained by fecal-oral transmission in cats. The present study was conducted to examine the survival of a feline isolate of T. foetus, AUTf-12, under various conditions that are relevant to fecal-oral transmission in cats. Trophozoites were grown in TYM medium and then exposed to water, cat urine, dry cat food, canned cat food, clumping cat litter, or filter paper for various lengths of time and then re-cultured in TYM medium. Trophozoites survived exposure to distilled or tap water for 30 but not 60 min, while they survived for at least 180 min in urine. Trophozoites survived for 30 min on dry cat food but survived for 120-180 min in canned cat food. No survival of trophozoites was observed on cat litter but trophozoites survived for 15 min when placed on filter paper. Our results indicate that T. foetus can survive and be potentially infectious in water, urine, dry cat food and canned cat food.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22100399/