Health Program for Cats
FAMILY PROTECTION Health Program for cats contains the most common zoonotic infections:
Bartonella henselae (Cat Scratch Disease)
Chlamydophila felis
Ringworm
Toxocara cati
Toxoplasma gondii
HealthGene recommends submitting blood, hair (or skin scrapes) and fecal samples for the FAMILY PROTRECTION Health Program.
For more information, contact your veterinarian.
Bartonella henselae (Cat Scratch Disease)
Description:
Cat-scratch disease, also called bartonellosis, is by far the most common zoonotic disease associated with cats. Approximately 25,000 people are diagnosed every year in the United States. Cat-scratch disease can occur when a person is bitten or scratched by an infected cat. Fleas may also play a role in the transmission of infection. Healthy adults generally recover with no lasting effects, but it may take several months for the disease to go away completely. People with compromised immune systems may suffer severe, even fatal, consequences. However, avoiding scratches and bites (for example, by not allowing children to play roughly with cats), controlling fleas, and keeping cats indoors all reduce the risk of cat-scratch disease. Studies have shown that infected cats can remain asymptomatic for several months to several years and thus it is crucial to test all new cats regardless of whether they look healthy or not.
Clinical Signs In Humans:
People with cat-scratch disease usually have swollen lymph nodes, especially around the head, neck, and upper limbs. They may also experience fever, headache, sore muscles and joints, fatigue, and poor appetite.
Clinical Signs In Cats:
Infected cats can remain asymptomatic for several months to several years.
Chlamydophila felis
Description:
Chlamydophila felis is primarily responsible for ocular infections in cats. In one study, C. felis infection was detected in 11.5% of cats of 104 cat-owning households, indicating that the organism is relatively common in the domestic cat population. Because the organism does not survive in the environment and requires direct contact between cats to spread, disease is much more commonly seen where larger groups of cats are kept together, such as multicat households, catteries and shelters. Although cats of all ages can be infected, disease is seen most commonly in young kittens (5 – 12 weeks old) with persistent or recurrent infection.
Clinical Signs In Humans:
In humans, C. felis infection appears in a form of human conjunctivitis.
Clinical Signs In Cats:
Fever, anorexia, depression, sneezing and coughing and occasionally pneumonia characterize infection in cats. Also, there is usually a liquid discharge from one or both eyes.
Ringworm
Description:
Ringworm is not caused by a worm at all as the name would suggest but rather, it is a skin infection caused by a group of fungi. Infected cats most often come
from environments housing large numbers of animals. Ringworm is transmitted by contact with an infected animal’s skin or fur, either directly or from a contaminated
environment. Infected cats continuously drop fungal spores from their skin and fur; these spores, which remain capable of causing infection for many months, are difficult to eradicate from a household. Children are particularly at risk of infection. To reduce environmental contamination, confine infected cats to one room until they are free of infection; then thoroughly clean and disinfect the household.
Clinical Signs In Humans:
In humans, ringworm often appears as a round, red, itchy lesion with a ring of scale around the edge.
Clinical Signs In Cats:
In cats, ringworm appears as a dry, gray, scaly patch on the skin.
Toxocara cati
Description:
Infection with the worm Toxocara cati is called Toxocariasis. However, cats periodically pass the egg stage of the worm in their feces, and so contaminate the environment and act as a source of infection that can spread to other animals and humans. Humans are occasionally reported to be infected by picking up the disease from the environment or from handling cats. If a human ingests Toxocara eggs, the subsequent larvae can migrate through the person’s tissues. The larvae most commonly migrate through the liver, lungs, and brain. They can cause severe inflammation and actual mechanical damage to the organs. All cats should be routinely treated against this worm to reduce the number in the cat population and in the environment, and so reduce the risk of contact and transmission to humans.
Clinical Signs In Humans:
Signs of this disease in humans include an enlarged liver, intermittent fever, loss of weight and appetite, and a persistent cough. Asthma or pneumonia may develop.
Clinical Signs In Cats:
Although the vast majority of cats infected with T.cati show no signs of disease, young kittens are most likely to have symptoms, and these will be worse if the kitten has a large number of worms. Signs include vomiting, diarrhea, stunted growth rate, distended abdomen (pot-bellied appearance), pale mucus membranes (e.g. gums).
Sometimes infected kittens have abdominal discomfort, groan when touched or lifted and are reluctant to move.
Toxoplasma gondii
Description:
A single-celled parasite called Toxoplasma gondii causes a disease known as toxoplasmosis. While the parasite is found throughout the world,
more than 60 million people in the United States may be infected with the Toxoplasma parasite. Of those who are infected, very few have symptoms because a
healthy person’s immune system usually keeps the parasite from causing illness.
Clinical Signs In Humans:
Most people who become infected with Toxoplasma are not aware of it. Some people who have toxoplasmosis may feel as if they have the “flu” with
swollen lymph glands or muscle aches and pains that last for a month or more. Severe toxoplasmosis, causing damage to the brain, eyes, or other organs, can
develop from an acute Toxoplasma infection or one that had occurred earlier in life and is now reactivated. Severe cases are more likely in pregnant women and
individuals who have weak immune systems, though occasionally, even persons with healthy immune systems may experience eye damage from toxoplasmosis.
Clinical Signs In Cats:
In cats, the most commonly reported clinical signs associated with feline toxoplasmosis are anorexia, weight loss, lethargy, dyspnoea (due to pneumonia),
ocular signs and pyrexia. Other less common features include gastrointestinal signs vomiting/diarrhoea), neurological signs, lymphadenopathy, jaundice, myositis and
abortion.