Arranz Solís, DavidPedraza-Díaz, SusanaMiró Corrales, GuadalupeRojo-Montejo, SilviaHernández, LeticiaOrtega Mora, Luis MiguelCollantes Fernández, Esther2023-12-182023-12-182016Arranz-Solís, D., Pedraza-Díaz, S., Miró, G., Rojo-Montejo, S., Hernández, L., Ortega-Mora, L. M., & Collantes-Fernández, E. (2016). Tritrichomonas foetus infection in cats with diarrhea from densely housed origins. Veterinary parasitology, 221, 118–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2016.03.0190304-401710.1016/j.vetpar.2016.03.019https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/91456Tritrichomonas foetus is a protozoan parasite that has been recently identified as a causative agent of chronic diarrhea in domestic cats. Transmission of infection occurs by the fecal-oral route through direct contact among animals. Consequently, feline trichomonosis (FT) is more likely to be present in multi-cat environments. The objective of this work was to study the presence of T. foetus and some associated risk factors in cats from densely housed origins and with a reported history of chronic diarrhea. Animals enrolled in this study were family cats (n = 15) acquired from pet shops, shelters or breeding centers and cattery cats belonging to one breeding center (n = 28) and two cat shelters (A and B, n = 25 each). In the catteries, a follow-up analysis for a period of up to 2 months was also performed to determine the parasite shedding pattern in feces and the incidence of infection. Fecal samples were analyzed using in vitro culture and a PCR technique. T. foetus was detected in a total of 38.7% (36/93) of the cats with chronic diarrhea. Parasite infection was similarly detected in family cats and cattery animals (40% versus 38.4%). In the catteries, the parasite was detected in 50%, 44% and 20% of the animals from the breeding center and shelters A and B, respectively. The follow-up analysis showed that 58.3% of infected cats intermittently shed trophozoites in their feces, with an incidence of 23.1%. Investigation of potential risk factors showed that cats ≤1 year old were more likely to be infected than older cats (57.1% versus 27.3%; P < 0.05). No significant differences were found when sex and breed factors were studied. These results confirm the importance of FT as a cause of chronic diarrhea in cats and highlight the relevance of close contact conditions for T. foetus transmission.engAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/journal article1873-2550https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2016.03.019open accessTritrichomonas foetusCatsChronic diarrheaSingle-householdMulti-cat environmentRisk factorsParasitología (Veterinaria)3109 Ciencias Veterinarias