Mycoplasma in cats (Feline Hemotrophic Mycoplasmosis)

by Elisa Black-Taylor
(USA)

Lilo day before death

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Lilo day before death

Lilo day before death Froggie died at shelter Sugar died after Lilo

I'd never heard of Mycoplasma in cats until a reader wrote in about this article and suggested mycoplasma as a cause of death (see: Help Sudden Kitten Death). So I decided to do a little research on the subject. I'll be learning about this illness as I write today's story.

Mycoplasma are single cell organisms similar to bacteria, and are the smallest free-living, self-replicating organisms known. Unlike bacteria that have a rigid cell wall, Mycoplasma have thin, flexible membranes, which contain its cytoplasma. This lack of a cell wall allows Mycoplasma to resist many of the antibiotics that are useful against most bacteria. Mycoplasma are difficult to detect in human and animal specimens and difficult to culture in the laboratory (source: allanimaleyeclinic.com).

Mycoplasma until recently has been referred to as feline infectious anemia (see another article that refers to this condition). This is a term I'm VERY familiar with as one of the kittens I was supposed to rescue at GCAC in Greenville, SC died of the illness. This occurred over the same weekend Lilo and Stitch were in critical condition. Lilo and Stitch made it through than weekend. A gold tabby kitten named Froggie did not. Hemobartonella felis, the official term, was first discovered in 1942 in Africa.

This is a very scary illness in that it mimics other viral and bacterial infections. Feline conjunctivitis (cat pink eye), coughing, sneezing and trouble urinating are just a few of the symptoms. This disease is scary because it’s very hard to diagnose. The mycoplasma organism will attach itself to a host (usually caused by a flea bite) and sit there outside the cells waiting for a cat’s immune system to react. Once the immune system detects foreign proteins on the red blood cells it begins an attack using the cats antibodies to destroy the red blood cells. It’s a difficult organism to culture because it requires a live host to thrive.

An infected cat may eat cat litter in an attempt to replace iron lost to the organism.

Mycoplasma species are part of the internal flora of the eye and also the upper respiratory tract of a cat and has been shown to be a major cause of these conditions.

Most cat blood sent for lab work is visually scanned for the organism, but a cat infected may still not be diagnosed due to, how should I put this, sneakiness of the organism. Once a specimen is taken from a cat, the organism doesn’t remain visible for very long and can be easily missed. Molecular detection by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) seems to offer the best way of identifying Mycoplasma. The test to ask for is B0050 and is included on a P0020 feline respiratory panel.

However, many vets who suspect Mycoplasma illness in cats will go ahead and begin a three week round of antibiotics. It’s far easier to treat than to diagnose. The antibiotic doxycycline is the drug of choice as it comes in an oral form. Predisone is also used to slow down the removal of red blood cells until the illness can be got under control.

This disease, if you can call it that, is like most cat diseases and affects the very young and those with compromised immune systems. It remains in the system of the cat for life and may recur due to stress, weakness, illness, etc.

I’m seriously beginning to believe this is what a few of my kittens died of. Lilo had been on antibiotics for ten days. If was only a few days after she came off antibiotics that the infections circled back around and she was dead within a day. Sugar Pie was the same, except she didn’t have any respiratory symptoms.

Sometimes the illness doesn’t produce visible symptoms. With Lilo and Sugar dead, I rushed Vine to my vet and he prescribed antibiotics for all of my kittens as a precaution. We’ve had all of them on Zeniquin and so far no more deaths.

I want to urge everyone to please watch your kittens. We thought we had this thing licked and it doubled back on us faster than we knew what we were up against. If your cat becomes ill again immediately after going off of antibiotics for a respiratory infection, DO NOT WAIT! See a vet immediately. It only took 36 hours for Lilo to go from stuffy nose to death!

I’m not giving you a lot of homework with this story. More can be found online by entering “mycoplasma” and “conjunctivitis mycoplasma.” The latter really scares me because almost every kitten I’ve rescued has come home with this. I hope I’ve kept this information simple enough to understand while at the same time not sounding ignorant by not using a lot of scientific terms.

In closing, I'd like to add Mycoplasma can also be transmitted to humans. Please read this!

Elisa

Addendum

I'm Michael. I own the website. This article was written about 15 years ago. I would like to add a few extra points if I may without in any way criticising Elisa who did a good job. I added a few words myself those years ago.

Feline Hemotrophic Mycoplasmosis
Feline Hemotrophic Mycoplasmosis. Image: VCA Hospitals.

Reading VCA Animal Hospitals description of the disease, it is essentially a bacterial infection which damages red blood cells and which can cause anaemia if enough red blood cells are destroyed.

However, sometimes the symptoms are subclinical, in other words the cat is asymptomatic. The organism is very difficult to observe because it is very small.

Importantly, the organism can be found in normal cats and detecting the organism does not necessarily confirm a diagnosis of Feline Hemotrophic Mycoplasmosis, which I believe is the full title of this disease.

The obvious symptom is going to be anaemia but if the organism is present it might not be the cause of anaemia. Other causes should not be overlooked. They say that the test should be a PCR assay. This measures the DNA of the organism as I understand it.

If the cat suffers from the feline leukaemia virus and the feline immunodeficiency virus it may also indicate that the cat is suffering from mycoplasma.

VCA recommend a broad-spectrum antibiotic and then lists a range of possibilities. These may cure the disease but there may be a relapse.

The disease may persist in areas where the antibiotic failed to penetrate.

My suggestion would be to try different antibiotics if one of them causes severe side effects for the reasons stated above. There are many broad-spectrum antibiotic to choose from. An alternative might be more suited to a cat suffering from this disease.

It seems that the disease is contracted by biting an ectoparasite such as a cat flea. And it appears to that the disease can be transferred between cats via contaminated food bowls and litter trays but this is unlikely.

A mother might transfer the disease to her kittens and a bite from one cat onto another may transfer the disease as well.

Note: there are more comments below. Please scroll down. Thanks.

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Mycoplasma in Cats

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Jul 05, 2011
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@Betty
by: Elisa

I started mine of Silver Biotics that came from GNC. Its helping. I got it when a member of RawPaws suggested it may help. It can even be used in a nebulizer. So far no one else has died. Let me know what the vet thinks. I'm also using raw honey but mine ran out of antibiotics monday and you can't do honey while on them as they would kill the enzymes in the honey. The colloidal silver is easy to give in a syringe. We can see a difference overnight


Jul 05, 2011
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heading to the vet tomorrow
by: Betty Dwoske

after reading this i am taking gully in tomorrow to the vet. his rescue mate, chicken little, died before i could get him here but i am pretty sure it was something different as there was bloody poop everywhere. but gully is having a hard time kicking the URI and it came back after a round of 10 days 2x/day of antibiotics. i gave him some more and he seemed better. stopped the meds it came back did that twice more and it finally seemed to have gone away but today it seems like it's coming back. since he was very little and from the gcac, i'm going to fork over the $53 office visit cost to get him stronger antibiotics. just in case this is what he has. the replacement rescue, from another shelter, does not have any issues. she seems to be stronger in health and none of my other cats have any issues either. gah!


Jul 04, 2011
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Thanks
by: Michael

Thanks for this, Elisa. I have just looked up feline mycoplasmal infection.

Mycoplasma felis may cause URIs with conjunctivitis and a nasal discharge. There is no mention though of it being fatal.

The recommended treatment is tetracylines and ophthalmic preparations. (src: Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook).


7 thoughts on “Mycoplasma in cats (Feline Hemotrophic Mycoplasmosis)”

  1. this disease sounds a little like what we have dealt with, but vet diagnosed fiv feline leukemia. we live rural and many cats have been dumped on us and that has led to lots of new kittens. many have died as kittens but some make it to adult but then sometimes die later. we try to get cats fixed and their shots when young, but it is very expensive and some cats are wild and cannot be caught for spaying. our cats are all outdoors(and in garage) and exposed to each other. how do we keep this disease from spreading? we fall in love with them and then they die–it is heart wrenching.

    Reply
    • Jeani, your comment upset me. You are a good lady who cares. It is hard for people who care about animal welfare. You might try slowing the transmission of the disease between cats. Separate food and water bowls? Flea treatment for all cats if possible as it seems that fleas carry the disease. It is tough though as these are outdoor cats. But I think flea treatments might help. That would mean regular spot-on flea treatment. But be very careful with flea treatments as they are toxic insecticides.

      Reply
  2. I adopted the neighborhood cat, turns out he has FIV and mycoplasma, after he was neutered vet gave him antibiotic veraflox, had explosive diarrea , now after blood vet prescribed veraflox again 14 days even though he gets explosive diarrea , i do not know what to do iam broken hearted , i have 2 other cats have never been outside so worried about them , i will try the silver Biotics and colloidal silver , pray to God my cat Chico is his name, if anyone knows about other natural meds please let me know , thank you God bless

    Reply

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