Tritrichomonas is suspected in any case of feline diarrhea that is refractory to treatment. Tritrichomonas foetus is a flagellated protozoan parasite of domestic cats that resides within the lumen of the colon and causes colitis and chronic, foul-smelling diarrhea. see Video of T foetus & Giardia spp). 32 However, the organism was not associated with infection or disease of the reproductive tract in a separate study of cats with T. foetus infection that were housed in catteries. Tritrichomonas foetus is often misdiagnosed as Giardia by microscopic examination. J Feline Med Surg. 2013;15(12):1098-1103. Ronidazole is most commonly used to treat a protozoal infection in cats called Tritrichomonas foetus. Microbiologic Testing. Since our original outbreak in early 2006 we have assisted hundreds of pet owners and cat breeders plus a few dozen vets. The infection is prevalent among cattery cats where transmission via the fecal-oral route is suspected. Coinfection with Giardia is possible. Feline trichomonosis diagnostics in cats … The incidence of. Trichomonads do not form true cysts and therefore do not persist for more than a few hours under clean, dry and aerobic conditions. I've scoured the forums and have found good advice on this so far, but would like more current info and updates from older users. It is important to screen all cats with diarrhea for Tritrichomonas if T. foetus is initially suspected. There are several methods of testing for the parasite available to the veterinarian. It is an obligate parasite of the reproductive and the gastrointestinal tract of bovine and feline host respectively, leading to trichomonosis. The test came back positive. 17,27 –47 Trichomonosis is presumed to be transmitted from cat to cat via the fecal–oral route. This protozoa is a common cause of diarrhea in cats, particularly young cats and those living in multi-cat households. 1, 2 Over the past 15 years, numerous risk factors for infection have been identified, but definitive diagnosis and treatment of the infection remain challenging. A direct fecal smear should be performed for all cats with large bowel diarrhea to evaluate for the presence of T. foetus trophozoites (), using the technique described for Giardia (see Chapter 79). Tritrichomonas foetus is a very intriguing trichomonad protozoan with respect to its varied choice of residence in the different host species. Vomiting does not usually accompany T. foetus infections. Reasons for testing. I would like to report that Tritrichomonas foetus (TF) is well known to the aforementioned but the constant stream of inquiries I … 34 After 5 months of not being sure of the cause and trying various medications and diets and running various tests the vet finally decided to test for this. Tritrichomonas foetus is a flagellate protozoan, responsible for chronic large bowel diarrhoea. Many older posts on this talked about diagnosing Tritrichomonas foetus, but I don't see much info about people's success with treatment. About 5 … T. foetus appears to be much more common than previously thought. The causative protozoan, Tritrichomonas foetus, is pyriform and ordinarily 10–15 × 5–10 μm, but there is considerable pleomorphism.It may become spherical when cultured in artificial media. At its anterior end, there are three flagella approximately the same length as the body of the parasite. Tritrichomonas foetus was detected in the uterine contents of a cat with endometritis and pyometra. Tritrichomonas foetus is a common cause of chronic large‐bowel diarrhea in cats. PCR testing is considered the gold standard for diagnos - ing T foetus infection, with excellent sensitivity (70%) ... Tritrichomonas foetus infection in cats: a retrospective study of 104 cases. An update of this page has long been due. My cats were recently diagnosed with having a parasite called Tritrichomonas Foetus. Tritrichomonas species have now been described in cats residing in many countries, with prevalence of infection ranging from 2–59%.