Abdominal pains, vomiting, dehydration and watery stool are all signs that a cat is suffering from feline coccidiosis. Kittens and debilitated cats are prime candidates for its more severe manifestations.

Coccidia is not actually just a cat ailment, dogs can also be affected. It is thought that around a third of cats and dogs are in fact infected with the disease. However, not all of these animals will show symptoms of infection.

Protozoa, which are one celled organisms, are the cause of coccidiosis. These organisms take residence in the intestinal tract of the cat and may cause symptoms that resemble other parasites such as worms.

However, though the symptoms of worms and coccidia are similar, the conditions must be cured using different treatments. You should therefore take your cat to a veterinarian for a diagnosis before proceeding with any treatment, to ensure that you get the correct medicine.

So, how does your cat get it? Through coming into contact with infected fecal matter. All cat stool contain immature protozoa (referred to as oocytes), which are relatively harmless until they mature in an open environment. Once they mature, they may infect the cat once again. Cats may also acquire coccidiosis from eating mice infected with the protozoan.

There are various things that, as a pet owner, you can do reduce the risk of your cat or dog getting coccidia. You should:

1. Pay attention to where your pet spends most of its time. You should make sure your catteries and kennels are tidy and well-maintained. Dispose of stool as soon as possible so that the risk of the coccidian spreading is lessened.

2. Use disinfectants. It’s advisable to move your pet out of the way before proceeding with this. The reason being that the fumes from disinfectants are potentially harmful to animals. As for what disinfectant to use, find one that contains a fair amount of ammonia. Alternatively, just mix a little bleach in with some water.

3. Not ignore the cleaning of crevices and other hard to reach areas. Pets, being curious, end up sniffing around in lots of places that you might not expect. They are exactly the places that parasites lurk in so don’t forget about cleaning and disinfecting those areas too.

4. Repaint. Repainting the area where your pets live could help destroy coccidian oocytes where they mature.

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