title: Intestinal Tritrichomonas foetus infection in cats: a retrospective study of 104 cases.
abstract: The clinical presentation and response to treatment of cats infected with Tritrichomonas foetus have not been sufficiently described in a large number of pet cats. The aim of this study was to collect and analyze clinical data from pet cats diagnosed with intestinal T foetus infection. Clinical information was collected for 104 cats that tested polymerase chain reaction-positive for T foetus. The most common clinical sign was diarrhea (98%) with a median duration of 135 days (range 1-2880 days). Forty-nine of 83 (59%) cats had diarrhea since adoption. Other clinical signs included anorexia (22%), depression (24%), weight loss or failure to gain weight (20%), vomiting (19%), abdominal pain (9%) and increased appetite (3%). A total of 45 cats had completed treatment with ronidazole, 29 of which (64%) showed a good clinical response to treatment. Sixteen (36%) cats had either partial or no improvement, or a relapse shortly after discontinuation of treatment.
authors.affiliation: Gastrointestinal Laboratory, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Panagiotis G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Xenoulis
authors.forename: Danielle J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Lopinski
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Read
authors.forename: Jan S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Suchodolski
authors.forename: Jörg M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Steiner
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D002415:Cats; D005243:Feces; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D011529:Protozoan Infections, Animal / Q000469:parasitology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012385:Ronidazole / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016835:Tritrichomonas foetus / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D000981:Antiprotozoal Agents; D012385:Ronidazole