PARASITES IN CATS

(or Why It's A Bad Idea to Bring In Rescues Without A Visit To Your Vet First!)

The 5 Minute List:

Hookworms                                          Mites:
Roundworms                                         -Sarcoptes
Coccidia                                                  -Noetedres
Giardia                                                     -Cheyletiella (“walking dandruff”)
Amoeba                                                Ticks
Sarcocystis                                           Fleas (Ctenocephalides felis)
Toxoplasma                                         Feline Infectious Peritonities (TGE-like virus)
Trichomonas                                       Feline Panleukopenia Virus (Feline Parvovirus)
Cytauxzoon (Theileria)                       Feline Upper Respiratory Viral Complex:
Ringworm (Microsporum canis)         -Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis (Feline Herpes 1)
Feline Leukemia Virus                          -Feline Calicivirus
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus           -Feline Chlamydia

I made up this list in about five minutes and mostly off the top of my head, so it is far from exhaustive.  Nevertheless, I think it sufficient to get the point across that there are a lot of things out there for a stray cat to pass to your cats at home or, in some cases, to you as well.  I’m the last person to discourage taking in stray cats and making pets out of them as my wife and I do it all the time, but we have learned (often the hard way) that a modicum of caution is warranted along with the TLC and sympathy.  That sweet little homeless pussycat at your door, or hanging around the dumpster at your office, may be clean as a whistle but the odds are against it.  More likely it needs to get shed of some infestations before it is safe to bring in with you and your other pets (I’m assuming most of us softies already have a pet or two).  Come to think of it, unless your pets have had a recent checkup, the pets at home may be carrying something that they could pass on to a new cat coming into the house too.

There is always going to be a particle of risk, even with a thorough exam and every test known to man.  One hundred percent certainty is usually only illusory, especially in medical science.  On the other had, a thorough physical exam and a few cost-effective tests can reduce the odds of danger down to the same level as that of being run down by a helicopter on your way to the office.  Even without the tests, your vet can detect or rule out lots of infections and/or

infestations that your eyes are just not trained to see.  The American Association of Feline Practitioners Council recommends that every cat be screened for the Leukemia virus at least once in their lifetime.  A negative test with the in-office ELISA kits we now have afford virtually 100% certainty the patient is virus-free.  The odds of a positive test being reliable depend on a number of other factors, but there are other tests available if confirmation is needed.  It is axiomatic that a fecal examination is a very good idea if only to rule out the garden variety of intestinal parasites that are lurking out there in our lush, temperate environment (they don’t call it Green Country for nothing).

If I haven’t convinced you yet, take another look at my 5 Minute List above.  Whether you choose to place all of them under the rubric of “parasites” is immaterial.  The point is:  All these are out there and the chances are significant that a stray cat will have encountered at least some of them.  You shouldn’t be discouraged about rescuing stays, but you should exercise enough caution to constitute common sense – take your rescue to a vet first!

Written by Max Rust, DVM, former owner of Animal Care Clinic at 71^st & Memorial who now owns Affordable Pet Care at 11^th & 129^th St in Tulsa.  Dr. Rust is a participating veterinarian in our Stitch in Time program for feral and stray, unowned cats.