PetCaseFinder

Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Tritrichomonas foetus infection in cats with diarrhoea in a rescue colony in Italy.

Journal:
Journal of feline medicine and surgery
Year:
2009
Authors:
Holliday, Malcolm et al.
Affiliation:
Rifugio per Gatti 'Cinni' · Italy
Species:
cat

Plain-English summary

In a rescue colony in Italy, researchers looked at stool samples from 74 cats that had ongoing diarrhea affecting their large intestines. They tested for a parasite called Tritrichomonas foetus, which can cause these symptoms. Out of the cats tested, 24, or about one-third, were found to be infected, and most of these infected cats were over a year old and were all neutered mixed-breed domestic cats. This study highlights the presence of this infection in a group of cats with chronic diarrhea.

Abstract

Faecal samples from 74 cats with chronic large bowel diarrhoea that were living in a rescue colony in Italy, were submitted for assessment of Tritrichomonas foetus by direct microscopy of faecal smears (n=20) and T foetus-specific culture (n=74), with confirmation by polymerase chain reaction (n=1). Twenty-four of the cats (32%) were found to be infected with T foetus. The infected cats were predominantly over a year of age (67%) and were all neutered non-pedigree domestic cats.

Find similar cases for your pet

PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.

Search related cases →

Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18774326/