Abdominal pains, vomiting, dehydration and watery stool are all signs that a cat is suffering from feline coccidiosis. All cats are at risk from this unfortunate disease, though kittens and debiliated cats are the most common sufferers.
Actually, coccidia is very common among both felines and canines. It is thought that around a third of cats and dogs are in fact infected with the disease. However, not all of these animals will show symptoms of infection.
Protozoa, which are one celled organisms, are the cause of coccidiosis. Acting in a similar way to other parasites, such as worms, protozoa live in the intestinal tract of cats.
However, though the symptoms of worms and coccidia are similar, the conditions must be cured using different treatments. This makes it very important that you take your cat to a veterinarian as soon as you notice symptoms of intestinal distress, diarrhea, and vomiting.
So, how does your cat get it? Through coming into contact with infected fecal matter. Oocytes, which are immature protozoa, reside in cat stool and mature in the open environment. The longer a cat stool has been to decay, the more the oocytes develop, and the more at risk cats coming into contact with it become. Another way of cats developing coccidiosis is from licking or eating protozoan infected mice.
There are various things that, as a pet owner, you can do reduce the risk of your cat or dog getting coccidia. You should:
1. Keep basic sanitation for catteries and kennels. You should make sure your catteries and kennels are tidy and well-maintained. Of particular importance is the disposing of stool within a day or two of it appearing.
2. Disinfect. It’s advisable to move your pet out of the way before proceeding with this. The reason being that the fumes from disinfectants are potentially harmful to animals. As for what disinfectant to use, find one that contains a fair amount of ammonia. Alternatively, just mix a little bleach in with some water.
3. Not ignore the cleaning of crevices and other hard to reach areas. Pets, being curious, end up sniffing around in lots of places that you might not expect. They are exactly the places that parasites lurk in so don’t forget about cleaning and disinfecting those areas too.
4. Consider repainting. Coccidian oocytes living on the walls of your house will instantly be killed should you repaint the areas where they are.
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