Fecal flotation is routinely used to identify feline helminth infections in clinical practice, but it is known to have limitations of sensitivity, particularly for cestodes. To determine the prevalence of helminths in a contemporary population of cats and evaluate the ability of fecal flotation to detect these infections, helminths were recovered from intestinal tracts removed from 116 adult cats humanely euthanized by an animal control shelter in northeastern Oklahoma. Results were compared to those of fecal flotation performed using both passive and centrifugal techniques. Helminths were identified in 78/116 (67.2%) cats, including Toxocara cati (48/116; 41.4%), Ancylostoma tubaeforme (8/116; 6.9%), Dipylidium caninum (40/116; 34.5%), and Taenia taeniaeformis (30/116; 25.9%). Cats with T. cati were significantly more likely to harbor T. taeniaeformis (P = .001) than cats without ascarids. Centrifugal fecal flotation with sugar solution identified 37/48 (77.1%) T. cati infections, 8/30 (26.7%) T. taeniaeformis infections, and no D. caninum infections. Proglottids were detected on external examination in 19.0% (12/63) of cats with cestodes. Cestodes were present in over half of the cats examined in this study, but the majority of these infections were not evident by the detection of external proglottids or recovery of characteristic stages on fecal flotation.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
November/December 2015
Original Studies|
November 01 2015
High Prevalence of Covert Infection With Gastrointestinal Helminths in Cats
Susan Little, DVM, PhD, DACVM-Parasit;
Susan Little, DVM, PhD, DACVM-Parasit
From the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK (S.L., K.D., T.S., M.R.); and the Southpark Veterinary Hospital, Broken Arrow, OK (C.A.).
Search for other works by this author on:
Chris Adolph, DVM, MS;
Chris Adolph, DVM, MS
From the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK (S.L., K.D., T.S., M.R.); and the Southpark Veterinary Hospital, Broken Arrow, OK (C.A.).
Search for other works by this author on:
Kathryn Downie, DVM;
Kathryn Downie, DVM
From the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK (S.L., K.D., T.S., M.R.); and the Southpark Veterinary Hospital, Broken Arrow, OK (C.A.).
Search for other works by this author on:
Tim Snider, DVM, PhD, DACVP,;
Tim Snider, DVM, PhD, DACVP,
From the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK (S.L., K.D., T.S., M.R.); and the Southpark Veterinary Hospital, Broken Arrow, OK (C.A.).
Search for other works by this author on:
Mason Reichard, MS, PhD
Mason Reichard, MS, PhD
From the Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK (S.L., K.D., T.S., M.R.); and the Southpark Veterinary Hospital, Broken Arrow, OK (C.A.).
Search for other works by this author on:
J Am Anim Hosp Assoc (2015) 51 (6): 359–364.
Citation
Susan Little, Chris Adolph, Kathryn Downie, Tim Snider, Mason Reichard; High Prevalence of Covert Infection With Gastrointestinal Helminths in Cats. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 1 November 2015; 51 (6): 359–364. doi: https://doi.org/10.5326/JAAHA-MS-6221
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
Sign in via your Institution
Sign in via your InstitutionCiting articles via
Association between Hyperglycemia and Canine Serum Pancreatic Lipase Immunoreactivity Concentration in Diabetic Dogs
Joonseok Kim, DVM, MS, Yeon Chae, DVM, MS, Dohee Lee, DVM, MS, Yoonhoi Koo, DVM, MS, PhD, Sijin Cha, DVM, Taesik Yun, DVM, MS, PhD, Mhan-Pyo Yang, DVM, MS, PhD, Byeong-Teck Kang, DVM, MS, PhD, DAiCVIM, Hakhyun Kim, DVM, MS, PhD, DKCVIM
Metastatic Cutaneous Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis in a Flat-Coated Retriever Treated with Doxorubicin and Prednisone
Christen Montesanto, DVM, Brenda Phillips, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology), Oceane Aubry, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology)
Colonic Hamartomatous Ganglioneuromatosis in a 4 Mo Old Puppy
Michael Jaffe, DVM, MS, CCRP, DACVS, Kayla Alexander, DVM, Michelle Ryan, DVM, Blair Bennett, DVM, Brittany Baughman, DVM, MS, DACVP
Preputial Shortening Reconstruction Surgery in a Dog with a Micropenis and Prepuce-to-Penis Size Disparity
Mengxuan Zhang, BVMS, Penny J. Regier, DVM, MS, Jackson Sanders, DVM
Tibial Plateau and Stifle Joint Invasion with a Subcutaneous Mast Cell Tumor
Monique Triglia, BSc, BVMS, Hollie Horton, BVSc, Melanie Dobromylskyj, BVSc, BSc, FRCPath, Amy Jo Ferreira, BVSc, DECVDI, William Peter Robinson, BVetMed, PGCertSAS, DECVS