How to Treat Cytauxzoonosis in Cats
Take your cat to the vet., Hospitalize your cat., Have your vet feed and rehydrate your cat., Let your vet administer oral medications., Allow your vet to administer heparin., Discuss the need for additional treatments., Wait for your cat to...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Take your cat to the vet.
A cat with cytauxzoonosis will start showing signs of the disease 5 and 14 days after getting infected with C. felis.Disease symptoms include anorexia, fever, and difficulty breathing.Once you recognize signs of the disease, take your cat to your vet, who will diagnose the disease and recommend a treatment plan.
Below are some questions you can ask regarding cytauxzoonosis treatment:
How long will treatment last? How much will treatment cost? What are my cat’s chances of recovery? -
Step 2: Hospitalize your cat.
Cytauxzoonosis requires intensive treatment.
You will need to hospitalize your cat for at least several days so your vet can administer the different treatments.Be aware that, in addition to the cost of the treatment itself, there will be a hospitalization cost as well. , Cytauxzoonosis makes cats very weak.
Your cat may not be strong enough to eat or drink on its own.
If this is the case, your vet will feed your cat through a feeding tube.
This feeding tube will go either through your cat’s mouth (‘esophageal’) or through the nose (‘nasoesophageal’).Your vet will feed your cat a liquid gruel that would easily slide down through the feeding tube and into your cat’s stomach.
To rehydrate your cat, your vet will give your cat fluids directly into its bloodstream through its veins (‘intravenous fluids’).IV fluids will rehydrate your cat much more quickly than oral fluids. , Several medications are available that will kill C. felis.
These drugs, which your vet will use in combination, are called azithromycin and atovaquone.Other drugs are available to treat cytauxzoonosis in cats.
However, the azithromycin/atovaquone combination has shown better survival rates., Cytauxzoonosis can cause serious blood clotting problems in cats.
If your vet detected blood clotting problems in your cat, they will administer a drug called heparin.Heparin works by treating current blood clots and preventing others from forming., Sometimes, cytauxzoonosis can require even more intensive care.
For example, if your cat is severely anemic (very low red blood cell count), it will likely need a blood transfusion.In addition, if your cat’s fever remains high despite treatment, your vet will want to give your cat an anti-inflammatory medication to bring the fever down.
If your cat’s breathing troubles are severe, it will need oxygen therapy.Veterinary blood banks are available for animals that need blood transfusions.
Your vet may refer to you a blood bank so your cat can receive a transfusion. , Recovery from cytauxzoonosis is often a slow process.
If a cat is fortunate enough to survive, it will take at least several weeks for all disease symptoms to disappear.Your vet will keep you updated on your cat’s progress during its hospitalization.
Be aware that not all cats treated for cytauxzoonosis will survive.
As your vet treats your cat, they will be honest with you regarding your cat’s chances for recovery. , As you can see, cytauxzoonosis is a serious disease that can be very expensive to treat.
The best way to prevent your cat from getting the disease is to keep it indoors.Keeping your cat indoors will keep it away from ticks.
If you have an outdoor cat (or an indoor cat that frequently goes outside), use the following strategies to transition it to being a strictly indoor cat:
Start feeding your cat indoors.
Keep your cat inside for increasingly longer periods of time before letting it back out, until you do not let it back out at all.
Give your cat lots of toys to play with, especially toys that encourage chasing and pouncing.
Spend a lot of quality time with your cat. , If your cat is stubbornly against staying indoors, you will need to protect it from tick bites with a tick preventive.Monthly prescription tick preventatives are available through your vet.
These monthly preventatives are applied directly to the skin between a cat’s shoulder blades.
If you have a dog, do not give its tick preventive to your cat.
The ingredients in canine tick preventatives are toxic to cats.Tick collars are also available., If your cat wants to be outside, you will need to closely examine its skin every day for ticks.
If you see a tick, you will need to carefully remove it.Below are tips for safely removing a tick:
Wear gloves when removing the tick.
Grab the tick with a pair of tweezers or tick-removal tool.
Grab it where the head and neck attach and pull straight up to remove it from the skin.
Place the tick in a jar of alcohol to kill it. , To further prevent your cat from getting infected with C. felis, keep your grass and shrubbery trimmed short.
Also remove any debris, such as piles of leaves, that would provide a nice hiding place for ticks. -
Step 3: Have your vet feed and rehydrate your cat.
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Step 4: Let your vet administer oral medications.
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Step 5: Allow your vet to administer heparin.
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Step 6: Discuss the need for additional treatments.
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Step 7: Wait for your cat to recover.
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Step 8: Keep your cat indoors.
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Step 9: Give your cat a tick preventive.
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Step 10: Check your cat for ticks if it goes outside.
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Step 11: Make your yard unappealing to ticks.
Detailed Guide
A cat with cytauxzoonosis will start showing signs of the disease 5 and 14 days after getting infected with C. felis.Disease symptoms include anorexia, fever, and difficulty breathing.Once you recognize signs of the disease, take your cat to your vet, who will diagnose the disease and recommend a treatment plan.
Below are some questions you can ask regarding cytauxzoonosis treatment:
How long will treatment last? How much will treatment cost? What are my cat’s chances of recovery?
Cytauxzoonosis requires intensive treatment.
You will need to hospitalize your cat for at least several days so your vet can administer the different treatments.Be aware that, in addition to the cost of the treatment itself, there will be a hospitalization cost as well. , Cytauxzoonosis makes cats very weak.
Your cat may not be strong enough to eat or drink on its own.
If this is the case, your vet will feed your cat through a feeding tube.
This feeding tube will go either through your cat’s mouth (‘esophageal’) or through the nose (‘nasoesophageal’).Your vet will feed your cat a liquid gruel that would easily slide down through the feeding tube and into your cat’s stomach.
To rehydrate your cat, your vet will give your cat fluids directly into its bloodstream through its veins (‘intravenous fluids’).IV fluids will rehydrate your cat much more quickly than oral fluids. , Several medications are available that will kill C. felis.
These drugs, which your vet will use in combination, are called azithromycin and atovaquone.Other drugs are available to treat cytauxzoonosis in cats.
However, the azithromycin/atovaquone combination has shown better survival rates., Cytauxzoonosis can cause serious blood clotting problems in cats.
If your vet detected blood clotting problems in your cat, they will administer a drug called heparin.Heparin works by treating current blood clots and preventing others from forming., Sometimes, cytauxzoonosis can require even more intensive care.
For example, if your cat is severely anemic (very low red blood cell count), it will likely need a blood transfusion.In addition, if your cat’s fever remains high despite treatment, your vet will want to give your cat an anti-inflammatory medication to bring the fever down.
If your cat’s breathing troubles are severe, it will need oxygen therapy.Veterinary blood banks are available for animals that need blood transfusions.
Your vet may refer to you a blood bank so your cat can receive a transfusion. , Recovery from cytauxzoonosis is often a slow process.
If a cat is fortunate enough to survive, it will take at least several weeks for all disease symptoms to disappear.Your vet will keep you updated on your cat’s progress during its hospitalization.
Be aware that not all cats treated for cytauxzoonosis will survive.
As your vet treats your cat, they will be honest with you regarding your cat’s chances for recovery. , As you can see, cytauxzoonosis is a serious disease that can be very expensive to treat.
The best way to prevent your cat from getting the disease is to keep it indoors.Keeping your cat indoors will keep it away from ticks.
If you have an outdoor cat (or an indoor cat that frequently goes outside), use the following strategies to transition it to being a strictly indoor cat:
Start feeding your cat indoors.
Keep your cat inside for increasingly longer periods of time before letting it back out, until you do not let it back out at all.
Give your cat lots of toys to play with, especially toys that encourage chasing and pouncing.
Spend a lot of quality time with your cat. , If your cat is stubbornly against staying indoors, you will need to protect it from tick bites with a tick preventive.Monthly prescription tick preventatives are available through your vet.
These monthly preventatives are applied directly to the skin between a cat’s shoulder blades.
If you have a dog, do not give its tick preventive to your cat.
The ingredients in canine tick preventatives are toxic to cats.Tick collars are also available., If your cat wants to be outside, you will need to closely examine its skin every day for ticks.
If you see a tick, you will need to carefully remove it.Below are tips for safely removing a tick:
Wear gloves when removing the tick.
Grab the tick with a pair of tweezers or tick-removal tool.
Grab it where the head and neck attach and pull straight up to remove it from the skin.
Place the tick in a jar of alcohol to kill it. , To further prevent your cat from getting infected with C. felis, keep your grass and shrubbery trimmed short.
Also remove any debris, such as piles of leaves, that would provide a nice hiding place for ticks.
About the Author
Kenneth Moore
Creates helpful guides on practical skills to inspire and educate readers.
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