Cat owners are being warned of a disease that can be fatal to the animals.
Cytauxzoonosis, also known as “bobcat fever” is caused by a parasite spread by ticks and has no cure. Cats often die less than 14 days from the time symptoms –– listlessness, loss of appetite, difficulty breathing –– begin.
Dr. Tom Dunn, of the Houston Veterinary Hospital, said he sees anywhere from 10-25 felines each summer with the disease. He says there is 60 percent mortality with treatment and 100 percent without. He has treated two cats in 2018 –– one successfully.
Dunn said cat owners’ best defense against the disease is keeping the animals inside from March through July. If that is not an option, areas were cats roam should be mowed often to keep grass short and leaves removed. He said yards should be treated with tick insecticide.
Cytauxzoonosis was first identified in 1976 and has been reported throughout the southeast and into the midwest.