I never would have even know about Tritrichomonas Foetus (aka: T. Foetus) if I had not taken part in a study at the University of Guelph. I had heard about the study at a cat show in London, ON while I was showing a couple of my cats. Fecal swabs and samples were being taken to test for T. Foetus (a recently recognized parasite in the feline world). I honestly felt that my cats would test negative as I had never heard of T. Foetus before and assumed it had to be quite rare. WRONG. That's what I get for assuming I guess. Apparently a high number of the cats tested were positive for T. Foetus - including one of my own!

Ansarah Hosein DVM, who took the fecal swabs and did the testing on my cats, was kind enough to provide me with lots of information on T. Foetus and to answer my questions (since even my own vets are not all that familiar with the parasite due to the fact it is so "new" in the feline world). Testing and treatment is not some thing that is routinely done.

We were able to get the medication needed to treat T. Foetus thankfully. Although, it seems that for the most part vets recommend not treating a cat if they are not showings signs of having it. In a single pet household this would be fine however in a multi-pet household, a cattery or a shelter - it can be dangerous. The parasite will continue to be passed from one cat/kitten to the next and although not all of them will show signs of having T. Foetus, some will have severe diarrhea and can become quite ill.

In the end, in my honest opinion, T. Foetus appears to be one of the less problematic "issues" that a breeder or shelter may have to deal with. There is so far only one medication that can be used to successfully eradicate T. Foetus and it has the potential to cause neurotoxicity in some cats/kittens. If it does, the medication must be stopped immediately. The important thing to remember is that it seems that T. Foetus causes few cats to become sick and once they reach adult hood, they are often resistant to it. AND, unlike many of the issues that felines can face, T Foetus is NOT life threatening.

Below I have included some information on T. Foetus and the treatments.

Tritrichomonas Foetus

Treatment with Ronidazole

InPouch TF Culture

InPouch TF Culture - Where To Buy