Coccidia In Newborn Kittens

Mama cats may become infected with coccidiosis by eating a mouse already infected with the protozoa or through exposure to coccidiosis in the environment.

Coccidia in newborn kittens. Since young kittens usually those less than six months of age have no immunity to coccidia the organisms reproduce in great numbers and parasitize the young animal s intestines. Coccidia is a nasty little single celled organism that causes mucousy diarrhea in kittens and can be treated with the prescription drug ponazuril. Adult cats generally do not develop symptoms of coccidiosis infection and often clear the protozoa on their own. Giardia is another protozoan infection resulting in soft frothy greasy diarrhea which can be treated with panacur.

Kittens who are infected with coccidiosis are contagious and can infect the rest of the litter. Coccidiosis is of particular danger for kittens since their immune system is underdeveloped. My preference is to treat all babies with marquis. Kittens are commonly diagnosed with coccidiosis but are not born with it.

There are also. Coccidia can be an issue if we did nothing to mom pre birth cocciguard or marquis and must be considered in large breed dogs four weeks old. Coccidia invade the gut and irritate the lining of the bowel. Since young kittens less than six months of age have no immunity to coccidia the organisms can reproduce in.

With appropriate and prompt treatment the prognosis is good. The most common parasite to cause coccidiosis in cats is isospora felis. Kittens generally become infected with coccidiosis by ingesting minute amounts of their mother s feces which can sometimes occur while nursing. This causes stomach cramps loss of appetite and poor growth in young kittens.

If it is not treated over time it can cause damage to the lining of a cat s intestinal tract. However kittens with developing immune systems can be affected more severely. We do recommend ponazuril as the preferred treatment of coccidia in kittens in a shelter. Kittens are not born with coccidia but after birth the kitten is frequently exposed to his mother s faeces if the mother is shedding the infective cysts in her faeces then the young animals will likely ingest them and coccidia will develop within their intestines.

Trimethoprim sulfa has also been used successfully but it is typically very unpalatable and the dosing schedule your veterinarian uses 10 days is longer than would be needed for treatment with ponazuril. Coccidia are a group of single celled parasites called protozoa. While albon sulfadimethoxine is the only fda approved drug the recommended dosing schedule is to administer it for 5 21 days which can be costly both monetarily and in staff time. If the mother is shedding oocysts her babies can ingest them during nursing.

It most commonly causes watery mucus based diarrhea in animals. Coccidiosis is a parasitic type of infection caused by the coccidia parasite. After birth kittens can become infected from their mother with exposure to her feces especially with the tendency of kittens to explore. Kittens nursing coccidiosis is unusual.