A few months after her family moved to Cincinnati, Anne noticed that their two-year-old cat, Sassy, began to limp. She assumed the cat had been overactive, hopping endlessly from one object to another as she investigated her new home. However, Anne was wrong. The cat eventually died of a condition known as blastomycosis.
Overview of blastomycosis
This condition is a systemic disease. Its cause is a fungus in the soil of certain parts of the United States such as Missouri, Mississippi and the Ohio River Valley, according to PetPlace.com.
A cat contracts blastomycosis when he or she inhales the fungus, which initially exists in its mycelial or contagious form. After an infection develops in the pet’s lung, it morphs into a yeast form that causes an infection throughout the animal’s body. The presence of this fungus is a primary reason to make sure all cats in the household are strictly indoor pets.
Sometimes a cat has inhaled the mycelial form but doesn’t show any signs of blastomycosis for an extended period. The animal is not considered contagious during a non-symptomatic interval because the fungus hasn’t transformed into the yeast phase yet.
Symptoms
Blastomycosis can affect a cat’s kidneys, brain, eyes and bones. If it goes untreated, the animal can become quite ill. Some die. The signs of this condition depend upon which organ the fungus affects. For example, some cats experience visual problems or neurological issues such as tilting of the head or seizures. When the infection affects the cat’s bones, the primary symptoms might be lameness.
Owners should be on the lookout for coughing, fever, trouble breathing, weight loss, poor appetite or any combination of these signs.
The first thing a vet usually considers is the cat’s history of living in a region where this fungus is prevalent. He or she will also want to know if the cat goes outside and if so, how often and for how long. In the early stages of the disease, there might be few clinical signs of it.
A blood test known as serology can show whether the pet has been exposed to the blastomycosis fungus and has managed to manufacture antibodies to fight it. However, it’s not completely accurate and can give false negatives early in the disease.
The only way a veterinarian can tell for sure if a cat has blastomycosis is to make a positive identification of the fungus. When the cat has skin lesions that drain purulent material, the vet can gather a biopsy and send it to a lab to be cultured.
In order to clear up the fungus, a cat might require quite a few months of antifungal medications. Vets administer some – such as amphotericin B – via IV. Others like ketoconazle can be swallowed. Some cats require both types of dosing.
The prognosis of a case of blastomycosis depends on several factors. The two most important are the degree of severity of the lung disease and how extensively the infection has spread in the cat’s body.
No vaccine has been created for this disease, and there is no practical way to disinfected soil that’s contaminated with the fungus. A cat who survives blastomycosis will require significant home care. Owners must give medications exactly as ordered by the vet. It’s also essential to monitor that cat’s appetite and any bowel movements. In the event the animal stops eating, the vet should be notified immediately.
