Tips To Combat Toxoplasmosis

When we have any pet, one of the things that most concerns us is their health. For this reason we make sure that he receives the vaccinations he needs and, when we notice that he is ill, we take him to the vet without delay. However, for most of us the diseases of the animal world are quite unknown. That is why in this article we are going to talk about one of the best known,  toxoplasmosis in cats, and we will see how to combat it.

What is toxoplasmosis

The Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by a parasite that can get any warm – blooded animal, the human being, and even insects can carry this parasite. However, only in cats does the parasite produce eggs, which is why it is called the definitive host. A large percentage of cats that do not only live indoors have suffered from this disease, due to the consumption of live prey and because they increasingly suffer from the Feline Immunodeficiency virus, which makes them weaker to the attacks of parasitic infections .

How the cat becomes infected with toxoplasmosis

Although we have already briefly discussed this matter in the previous point, we want you to be clear about the forms of contagion:

• Intestinal. When the cat ingests contaminated animal tissues or the parasite’s own eggs, these reach the intestine, where they reproduce and form new eggs that are eliminated when defecating. Once outside the animal’s body, from 24 hours to five days later, these eggs can infect others. The cat will be sick for about 20 days, which is the time it will take to develop the antibodies necessary to fight the infection.

• Extraintestinal. When the eggs are consumed by an animal they can pass from the intestine to the blood and infect any part of the organism. At that time they can reproduce by causing the body to produce antibodies that control parasites from developing. There would only be a development of the disease if the carrier suffered a drop in their defenses. When these infected animals are destined for animal or human consumption, they can transmit the disease, since it is not detected with the controls that these foods pass, as long as they are consumed raw or poorly cooked.

Toxoplasmosis in Cats

Generally, the cat catches the disease between 2 and 4 months, which is when it begins to either hunt or eat raw meat supplied by its owners. When this happens the disease develops, as we saw, in an intestinal way, it may not present symptoms or suffer from diarrhea.

When it develops extraintestinally, only a small percentage of cats present symptoms, and these symptoms are not exclusive to toxoplasmosis, so the diagnosis can be difficult. They may have a fever, poor appetite, listlessness, or trouble breathing. Also suffer from eye disorders, such as hemorrhages and retinal detachment. As we said before, the disease presents symptoms when the cat does not have good defenses.

Treatment of toxoplasmosis

If we suspect that our cat suffers from the disease, we must go to your veterinarian to make the diagnosis. The typically treatment with antibiotics which, while not destroying the pest, prevent multiply. You will be treated for a month, and sometimes two different classes of these drugs will need to be used to make it more effective. You have to follow the guidelines of the medical professional since, if you exceed the dose, the cat can suffer different side effects.

How to prevent toxoplasmosis

• Try not to eat raw meat or live prey. A useful way to avoid the latter is with a rattle collar, which will alert its victims.
• Do not allow it to come into contact with the feces of other animals.
• Clean your litter box daily.
• Do not let him defecate in a different place, such as the garden.
• Disinfect with ammonia the areas where you may have deposited your fecal matter.
• Carry out a couple of veterinary check-ups a year, especially if the cat lives outside the home.

Let’s not forget that pregnant women are a group that presents a special risk, since toxoplasmosis can cause miscarriages and serious malformations in the fetus, so if you are pregnant and living with a cat, you should take extreme precautions.

Now we know better about toxoplasmosis and how to deal with it.