Cytauxzoonosis

Cytauxzoonosis is a mostly fatal tick-borne disease in domestic cats. It is identified as the blood parasite Cytauxzoon felis. In Africa, this disease is carried by ungulates, but in North America, it is carried by bobcats, particularly in the South. As of four years ago, the disease was only reported in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, and especially Arkansas, but in May 2006 alone, at least six fatal cases we... more

Cytauxzoonosis is a mostly fatal tick-borne disease in domestic cats. It is identified as the blood parasite Cytauxzoon felis. In Africa, this disease is carried by ungulates, but in North America, it is carried by bobcats, particularly in the South. As of four years ago, the disease was only reported in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, and especially Arkansas, but in May 2006 alone, at least six fatal cases were reported in the Tennessee communities of Franklin and Brentwood just at the clinic of Dr. Charles O. Beauchamp. In 2007 there was at least one fatal case in Rutherford County, Tennessee at the clinic of Dr. Randy Rickets. Furthermore, veterinarians in Marion County, Tennessee have found additional cases of Cytauxzoonosis in that locale. Although the pathogen lies dormant in wild cats, when transmitted to domestic cats, it becomes extremely virulent. The pathogen is spread to domestic cats through the American Dog Tick (Dermacentor... less