Healthy Cats

Feline Toxoplasmosis

This disease is caused by the protozoan Toxoplasma gondii. Cats are likely to acquire the infection by consuming infected birds or rodents or, rarely, by ingesting oocysts in contaminated soil. Cats are the primary host for this obligate intracellular parasite (a parasite that can only exist inside the living cell of another organism), but it can infect other warm-blooded animals.

Evidence strongly suggests that cats (and people) can also get the disease from eating raw or undercooked pork, beef, mutton, or veal or unpasteurized dairy products that contains toxoplasma organisms. In cats, the oocysts develop in the intestines and are passed out in the feces, so the feces of infected cats present another source of infection. These infective oocysts are only passed for a very short time after initial exposure. Cats and humans can transmit toxoplasma in utero to their unborn offspring.

Feline intestinal toxoplasmosis is usually asymptomatic. When symptomatic, it affects the brain, spinal cord, eyes, lymphatic system, and lungs. The most common signs are loss of appetite, lethargy, cough, and rapid breathing. Visual and neurological signs may be evident. Other signs are fever, weight loss, diarrhea, and swelling of the abdomen. Lymph nodes may enlarge. Kittens may exhibit encephalitis, liver insufficiency, or pneumonia. Prenatal infection may be responsible for abortion, stillbirths, and unexplained perinatal deaths, including the fading kitten syndrome. Many cats that show clinical signs are concurrently infected with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) or feline leukemia virus (FeLV).

Treatment: Antibiotics such as clindamycin are available to treat active infection and prevent the intestinal phase of oocyst shedding.

Public health considerations: About half the human adult population shows serological evidence of having been exposed in the past. Men and women with protective antibodies probably will be immune to infection. However, the disease is a particular hazard when a pregnant woman without prior immunity is exposed to it. Immunocompromised people are also at risk.

Toxoplasmosis infection in a pregnant woman can result in abortion, stillbirth, and birth of babies with central nervous system infection. Cats are the only animals who pass on the infectious stage of this parasite through their feces, and this has given rise to the incorrect assumption that pregnant women should not have cats. If you are pregnant, it is not necessary to get rid of your cat! The majority of human cases-by a wide margin-come from eating raw or undercooked meat, particularly lamb or pork. Unpasteurized dairy products can also be a source of infection. Wash fresh vegetables carefully, because oocysts can also cling to bits of soil. And wear gloves while gardening to avoid contact with infected soil.

It is important to understand the mode of transmission from cats to understand how minimal the risk is. Even a cat with an active toxoplasmosis infection is only capable of passing it on for seven to ten days of her entire life, when there’s an acute infection. It takes anywhere from one to three days for oocysts shed in the feces to become infectious-which means the litter box would have to sit unscooped for one to three days before the infection could be passed on. Then, to become infected from cat feces, a person would have to touch the feces and then touch an opening in their body.