Hemobartonellosis in cats - symptoms and treatment

Pets can, like people, suffer from a wide variety of diseases. And there is nothing surprising if a pet suddenly began to get seriously ill with something. This is not very pleasant, and the owner of the animal will have to work hard to completely cure his pet. Today, science knows everything about the vast majority of diseases annoying cats, and many methods have been developed for the treatment of all feline diseases. One of them is called hemobartonellosis, and it is about her that the story will go.

Hemobartonellosis is a very unpleasant disease, popularly called "cat anemia." What is this ailment, what is it like, and how to treat it?

A disease with such a long name is a serious danger for a cat. In most (a little over 60 percent) animals, the course of the disease occurs in a latent form, without any manifestation. But some external factors (suppose stressful situations, vaccinations, other diseases, etc.) provoke the activation of the disease.

Anemia begins to develop, against its background there are some other diseases and problems with well-being. If you don’t start treating the animal on time, that is, there are many options for death - almost a third of the diseased die.

Causes of infection

The disease is spread mainly by ticks and fleas. Therefore, if a cat is bitten by one of these parasites, in the body of which there is an infection, then the chance of infection in the animal is quite high. But there are other reasons why a pet can catch this difficult infection that is difficult to cure.

1. Contact with an infected animal. Suppose a pet went for a walk and had a fight with a stray cat suffering from this disease. During the fight, he was repeatedly bitten and scratched, and an infection got into his wounds.
2. Infects a mother suffering from this disease. If the parent is already infected and did not receive the necessary treatment in time, then the probability of transmitting the disease to the born kittens is very high. The disease is transmitted through the placenta during childbirth, as well as through breast milk.
3. When veterinarians transfuse blood. This reason is not common, because the transfusion procedure is rarely required and is also performed infrequently. Yes, and the blood is carefully checked, but there have been similar cases.

In male cats, infection with hemobartonellosis occurs more often than in female representatives. The reason is simple: male aggression is more aggressive in nature than in female than female, therefore they are much more likely to conflict and fight with relatives, while cats are more peaceful and accurate. By the way, the surge in infection infections peaks in the autumn - at this time of the year more than 30 percent more representatives of the cat tribe become infected than in spring and summer.

Symptoms of the disease

Infectious anemia in cats does not develop rapidly, but gradually, and it takes some time for the symptoms to appear. It takes 10-12 days for the owner to notice that the animal showed some noticeable signs of the disease.

Symptoms that appear in all sick animals are the same. The owner will definitely see that:

1. The cat quickly lost weight.
2. The behavior of the pet has changed a lot - it has become lethargic, apathy has occurred, with a minimum of movements it quickly gets tired, and generally hardly runs.
3. Breathing quickened, pulse became more frequent.
4. The pet eats less and less every day, until the complete refusal of visits to the bowl with food.
5. Urine darkened (noticeably in domestic cats living in the house).

When these signs are found, the owner needs to remember - weren’t mites found recently in the pet? Do fleas come in contact with him? Were there any contacts and fights with street brothers or dogs? By answering these questions, the owner will be able to more easily determine what is happening with the animal.

Ways to identify symptoms yourself

If the above changes in the cat are noticeable, then you need to make sure whether the infection really occurred with hemobartonellosis, or there are other reasons. To do this, you need to carefully examine the cat and look for some more symptoms indicating the presence of this particular disease.

1. Skin and coat. Tousled and shineless coat is characteristic of many diseases. And the discolored skin appears just among the owners of the described disease. With anemia, the body lacks oxygen and this always affects the skin of the animal - it becomes lemon-colored, sometimes with an orange tint. The skin becomes taut, devoid of moisture and harsh.
2. Mechanical damage. The presence of bites, deep and not very scratches or any wounds will allow us to say whether the cat could catch such a bad infection.
3. Mucous membranes. It is necessary to open the animal's mouth and carefully study the language and cat's gums. If there is anemia in the cat's body, they should be pale.
4. Temperature. In the chronic development of the disease, the cat does not have a fever. During an exacerbation, it may rise slightly, but this will not lead to fever.
5. Vote. When an animal is sick (no matter what), his voice sounds hoarse and with less intelligibility. A cat suffering from an illness tries to make sounds as rarely as possible. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to this symptom - it will let you know that the pet has definitely been struck by some kind of ailment.

Diagnostic measures

The above procedures performed at home make it possible to notice that pathological changes have occurred with the pet. But only a doctor can diagnose more accurately, so you should immediately contact your veterinarian.

The specialist will also see that the skin color has changed, the mucous membranes have turned pale, he will pay attention to other symptoms and signs, but a blood test is of no small importance. Also, the doctor will make a smear and examine it with a microscope. There it is possible to see if there is a harmful microflora in the pet’s body. After studying the tests done, the veterinarian will tell you exactly what the animal is sick with and will prescribe a treatment that will be useful.

Hemobartonellosis treatment

Therapeutic therapy is developed individually for each sick animal. The doctor without fail takes into account all the signs of the disease, the frequency of their manifestation and whether there are concomitant diseases and problems.

The doctor carefully thinks out according to what scheme the drugs are taken, in what dosage, and the duration of the course of treatment.

The essence of treatment is to destroy the parasites that cause the disease. Accordingly, the owner will have to give the patient medications that destroy the pathogenic microflora. In addition, other medicines that restore the functionality of the body and support its vital activity are mandatory.

Therefore, treatment is carried out in a complex and includes such drugs:

1. Antibiotics. Their role is that they fight an infectious agent.
2. Preparations, which include iron, help bring blood to normal.
3. Droppers - used for dehydration of the animal.
4. Vitamins (in injections and tablets) activate the pet's immune processes.
5. Sedative and sedative drugs - normalize the nervous system, inhibit the development of stressful conditions.
6. Prednisolone - used for an excess of red bodies in the blood.
7. Blood transfusion - required for total infection. By renewing the blood, you can kill most of the pathogenic organisms, and antibiotics will cope with the rest.

Under no circumstances should you start treatment yourself without consulting a specialist! Only they know about methods of dealing with such dangerous ailments, which include hemobartonellosis. Otherwise, the beloved cat may not get better, but worse, and the case may well be fatal.

Methods for the prevention of hemobartonellosis

It is much simpler to make sure that the disease does not affect the pet than to waste time, money and energy for its treatment. To prevent the occurrence of hemobartonellosis is quite realistic and affordable for everyone who contains cats. It's not as simple as with dogs - they can be trained and able to be obedient, and cats are more freedom-loving and wayward. But quite doable.

The following is recommended:

1. If possible, protect the pet from visiting the street, in extreme cases, try to control his walks.
2. To exert strength so that the cat does not come into contact with stray animals. Because it’s how they often suffer various infections and can “share” it with your pet.
3. Make an effort to properly feed the cat. If the owner does not know what exactly needs to be given to the furry housemate, you can ask knowledgeable people or read the relevant literature, which is plentiful on the Internet. Be sure to include vitamins in your cat's diet, because they strengthen the immune system. Since with good immunity, the animal will independently defeat any infection.
4. For domestic cats, constant movement is very important. Do not limit your pets to run - this is necessary for health.
5. Experts recommend always using anti-worms and fleas, and do not neglect tick-protecting products. In their quality there can be various kinds of special shampoos, creams, some kind of aerosol, a cat can be worn with a flea-collar collar, and so on - there is a wide choice in pet stores.
6. It is required to strictly observe hygiene when keeping the cat - regularly change the toilet, use good fillers for the pot.
7. When acquiring an animal by hand (say, in a nursery or at an exhibition), it is worth checking the health of parents and whether they are vaccinated.

In general, it is quite feasible for a person to do everything so that the cat does not become infected with any infection. Although this is far from always the case, when a four-legged friend finds a disease, one does not need to panic and, worst of all, leave it as it is in the hope that the situation will resolve on its own. A lot depends on the actions of the owner, in particular - whether the pet will recover and how quickly. Here there is only one recommendation - contact your veterinarian as soon as possible so that he looks and prescribes treatment. The most important thing is that a person cannot be infected with hemobartonellosis, so you do not need to protect yourself from contacts with a sick, but beloved, caudate household.

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