Coccidia In Newborn Kittens

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.

Coccidia in newborn kittens. There are also. Kittens are commonly diagnosed with coccidiosis but are not born with it. It most commonly causes watery mucus based diarrhea in animals. 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.

Coccidiosis is of particular danger for kittens since their immune system is underdeveloped. Kittens generally become infected with coccidiosis by ingesting minute amounts of their mother s feces which can sometimes occur while nursing. Giardia is another protozoan infection resulting in soft frothy greasy diarrhea which can be treated with panacur. However kittens with developing immune systems can be affected more severely.

If it is not treated over time it can cause damage to the lining of a cat s intestinal tract. Mama cats may become infected with coccidiosis by eating a mouse already infected with the protozoa or through exposure to coccidiosis in the environment. This causes stomach cramps loss of appetite and poor growth in young kittens. Coccidiosis is a parasitic type of infection caused by the coccidia parasite.

Adult cats generally do not develop symptoms of coccidiosis infection and often clear the protozoa on their own. The most common parasite to cause coccidiosis in cats is isospora felis. My preference is to treat all babies with marquis. We do recommend ponazuril as the preferred treatment of coccidia in kittens in a shelter.

Kittens who are infected with coccidiosis are contagious and can infect the rest of the litter. If the mother is shedding oocysts her babies can ingest them during nursing. Kittens nursing coccidiosis is unusual. Veterinary attention is needed to ease symptoms and rid the cat of the parasitic infestation.

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. With appropriate and prompt treatment the prognosis is good. Coccidia is a nasty little single celled organism that causes mucousy diarrhea in kittens and can be treated with the prescription drug ponazuril. 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. Nursing baby diarrhea from coccidia is secondary and rarely considered a diarrhea cause here. Coccidia are a group of single celled parasites called protozoa. Those cats most likely to show symptoms of coccidiosis are young kittens those with weak immune systems or cats kept in crowded unhygienic conditions.