University of Georgia experts are urging cat owners across the state to proactively protect their pets due to cases of cytauxzoonosis, or bobcat fever, caused by the tick-transmitted protozoan parasite Cytauxzoon felis. The infection spike is centered in a five-county area covering approximately 1,900 square miles. However, male bobcats are known to range up to 60 miles which increases the active infection area approximately fivefold.
Cytauxzoonosis, is caused by the parasite, Cytauxzoon felis, found in ticks carried by reservoir host bobcats. As a natural host, the bobcat typically experiences subclinical infection, followed by a chronic parasitemia. There are two species of ticks that can transmit the infection from bobcats to domestic cats, Dermacentor variabilis and Amblyomma americanum (the Lone Star tick).
Source: Albany Herald via AVMA SmartBrief, June 5, 2021. Link. If keeping pet cats inside 24 hours a day is not an option, Nancy Hinkle said that the animals should be protected from the ticks using an effective acaricidal product consistently and according to label directions.
Source: Merck Veterinary Manual. Link.
Since the discovery of feline cytauxzoonosis in Missouri in the mid-1970s, the distribution of C felis has been expanding. C felis has been reported in domestic cats in Missouri, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, Kansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Nebraska, Iowa, and Virginia. Anecdotal reports of C felis infection in domestic cats in additional states include Alabama, southern Illinois, and Ohio.
INSIGHTS: The Bobcat Lynx rufus is the most successful wild cat species in North America. They are reasonably tolerant of human disturbance, adapting well to altered habitat including urban areas. They hunt by day or night, and prey on whatever is most abundant opportunistically.
The active increase in Georgia serves to remind animal health pros across the U.S. that domestic cats need tick prevention.
