strange tale of deadly parasite killing feral cats?

trudy1

trudy1

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My brother-in-law just lost his little feral male to what he described as a parasite.  I couldn't get a lot of detail but the vet told him he had a parasite he got from a tick.  She said it was almost 100% deadly.  She is seeing it a lot in our area and that even the tick control seems to have little effect.  She claims it is in the bobcat population and the ticks infect the feral cats but are carried by the bobcats.

Of course brother didn't get the organisms name.

Sounds kind of "voodoo" to me.

Anybody heard of anything similar...we are in SW Missouri.
 
jcat

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There appear to be a number of candidates, but Cytauxzoonosis sounds likely:

Blood Parasites of Cats
Cytauxzoonosis is caused by parasites of the genus Cytauxzoon. These are natural parasites of wild cats of North America, including the bobcat and the Florida panther. The parasites are transmitted to domestic cats by ticks. Most cases occur in the southern and southeastern states of the US and are usually associated with access to wooded areas. The disease progresses quickly and is usually deadly, although a strain found in northwestern Arkansas and northeastern Oklahoma may be less dangerous. The disease can also be transmitted by blood infection, which appears to have less deadly results.

Signs of infection usually begin about 10 days after a tick bite and come to a peak about 6 days later. Cats may be feverish, weak, depressed, and dehydrated, have difficulty breathing, and refuse to eat. Temperatures may be as high as 105°F (40.5°C) but usually fall below normal at the point of death. Gums and other mucous membranes are often yellow (jaundiced). Your veterinarian will perform blood tests to identify this infection. Treatment is often unsuccessful when the infection is caused by a severe strain, but new treatments have shown promise in some cases. Keeping cats out of areas where ticks are found is the best way to prevent this disease.
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trudy1

trudy1

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Wow, scary stuff especially since we are 1/8 mile from my brother-in-law and have woods to our west.  We have 5 foot horse fencing surrounding our 3 acres and our 3 inside/outside cats rarely wander over the fence...but still an issue.  We have found few, if any, ticks as we also have 12 guineas running the place.

I really fear for my TNR colony of 8 I feed at brother's barn just down the road from his house.  I hope the fact that few of them really hunt will reduce exposure.  I feed every other day so they spend most of their time eating or watching for the "food truck" to come down the road.  Since all but 2 (the mom and dad) were captured as kittens, neutered, and released back to the barn I'm not sure they would even know how to hunt...they are never gone from the barn.

I should take a video of the exodus out the barn doors when I call "cat kids" to feed them.

Anyway, guess in my old age I am becoming a borderline cat hoarder.

Thanks for helping to clarify the disease.
 
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