does my cat got digestive problems,or allergys…..

It could be a food allergy, or even the quality of food you\\\’re feeding him. When was he last dewormed? Have you discussed this with your vet? How long has this been going on?

Tritrichomonas foetus is an emerging parasite of felines. It is a flagellated protozoan parasite of domestic cats that resides within the lumen of the colon and causes colitis and chronic, foul-smelling diarrhea. The infection is prevalent among cattery cats where transmission via the fecal-oral route is suspected. Infected cats may have persistent diarrhea for up to 2 years and can remain infected for their lifetime.

Testing for this parasite is still not routine at most veterinary clinics. T. foetus looks similar to Giardia when viewed under a microscope. Therefore, its misdiagnosis as Giardia is common. Fecal floats and Giardia SNAP tests do not detect T. foetus; a T. foetus-specific test must be performed to detect it.

Tritrichomonas foetus is well known as a venereal infection of bovines (cattle). It was first reported in cats in 1996, where it was found in the intestine and was associated with diarrhea. There is no evidence that feline T. foetus came from cattle, in fact, veterinarians don’t know how T. foetus made its way into the feline population.

T. foetus is common in purebred and shelter cats, with no particular breed being over represented. No breed of cat is known to be immune to T. foetus. Based on a survey of cats at an international cat show, approximately a third (36 out of 117) of the purebred feline population were positive with T. foetus. Geographically, T. foetus has been found in many countries.

Who should test for T. foetus? Catteries that currently or periodically have cats with bouts of diarrhea and that have passed tests for other parasites such as Giardia, Helminths (worms), and Coccidia. Catteries should also consider baseline testing their cats even if there has been no instances of diarrhea lately. All new cats coming into the cattery should also be tested for T. foetus.

How will T. foetus affect the health of my cat? Infected cats usually do not have their overall health adversely affected. Therefore, owners of infected cats often ignore the infection since their cats maintain body and coat condition. Unfortunately, such cats remain a source of infection for others. If left untreated, approximately ninety percent of infected cats will stop having diarrhea within two years. However, most of these cats will continue to carry the T. foetus organism, possibly for a lifetime. Single cat owners may find this outcome satisfactory if the cat remains healthy in other respects. However, if left untreated the T. foetus infection will perpetuate within their cattery and spread to other cats and catteries when kittens are adopted or animals are transported for breeding. Although many cats will eventually resolve their diarrhea, the prolonged presence of the organisms could predispose to development of inflammatory bowel disease later in life, but this has not yet been explored.