How do you stop a bobcat fever in cats?
Since there is no vaccine to prevent Cytauxzoon felis, the best way to protect your cat is to minimize his risk of exposure. Keeping your cat indoors and away from the reach of ticks is the most effective preventive-measure.
How do you treat cytauxzoonosis in cats?
In the majority of cases, hospitalization for supportive treatments such as intravenous fluids, blood transfusions, and drug injections is necessary, and in some cases the cat may require placement of a feeding tube for nutritional support. Recovery may take up to a week of hospitalization.
What diseases do bobcats carry?
Cytauxzoonosis (aka Bobcat Fever) is an acute, often fatal tickborne disease caused by the hematoprotozoan parasite Cytauxzoon felis. Bobcat Fever often strikes healthy, young adult cats who have access to or live outdoors.
What causes cytauxzoonosis?
Cytauxzoonosis is an emerging, life-threatening infectious disease of domestic cats (Felis catus) caused by the tick-transmitted protozoan parasite Cytauxzoon felis. Cytauxzoon spp are apicomplexan parasites within the family Theileriidae along with their closest relatives of Theileria spp.
How common is cytauxzoonosis?
Cytauxzoonosis was the reason for 1.5% of all cat admissions to the Boren Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at Oklahoma State University from 1998 through 2006. Prevalence would be low in areas where incidence of infection is low or if most infected cats quickly succumb.
Can a cat survive bobcat fever?
Without treatment the survival rate for domestic cats is about 3 percent. The threat of Bobcat Fever is complicated by the fact that early symptoms are vague—lethargy, decreased appetite—but it is essential to the cat’s survival to receive appropriate medical treatment quickly.
How is Cytauxzoon felis transmitted?
The natural route of C. felis transmission to felid intermediate hosts occurs via the blood-feeding of infected ticks harboring parasite sporozoites [9, 10]. Dermacentor variabilis was initially accepted to be the natural tick vector of C.
Can bobcat fever affect humans?
Bobcat fever does not affect humans or dogs. It is called bobcat fever because bobcats are considered the main reservoir for the disease, as it is typically not fatal for them.
How do you pronounce cytauxzoonosis?
The sound of the word Cytauxzoonosis (pronounced Sight-Oh-zO-un-Osis) is not the only atrocious thing about it, as more North Carolina cat owners are discovering.
How long does it take a cat to recover from bobcat fever?
Fever should subside in five to seven days in cats that survive a cytauxzoonosis infection. All possible stress inducers should be removed from the cat at this time. Survival often leads to a complete recovery. Some cats may become a reservoir of the parasite for the rest of their lives.
How common is Cytauxzoonosis?
Can cats survive bobcat fever?
What is the prevalence of cytauxzoonosis in Bobcats?
Rare cases of fatal cytauxzoonosis in bobcats have been reported. Cytauxzoonosis has been reported in several other wild felids in the USA and other countries, with both fatal and nonfatal outcomes. Infection has been reported in cougars, panthers, and tigers in the USA, in addition to two suspected but unconfirmed cases in cheetahs.
What is cytauxzoonosis in cats?
Cytauxzoonosis in Cats. What is cytauxzoonosis? Cytauxzoonosis is a tick-borne parasitic disease caused by Cytauxzoon felis, a protozoal organism. Cytauxzoon felis infects the blood cells of cats. It was first reported in the USA in 1976, and is now an important emerging disease in domestic cats.
Which animals are susceptible to cytauxzoonosis?
Bobcats and domestic cats were the only animals confirmed to be susceptible to C felis. C felis is transmitted by the lone star tick, A americanum. Cytauxzoonosis is typically diagnosed during April through September, which correlates with climate-dependent seasonal tick activity.
Can Bobcats spread parasites to other cats?
The natural host of this parasite is the bobcat, but the parasite can infect all other members of the cat family, both wild and domestic. While most bobcats show no obvious signs of illness, infected bobcats become persistent carriers of the disease. The infection is spread to other cats through the bite of a tick – usually the Lone Star tick.