Toxoplasma gondii is a common cat parasite with significant welfare implications. Understanding transmission, clinical disease, and prevention helps cat owners protect their pets.
Toxoplasmosis in young or immune-compromised cats can cause severe systemic disease affecting the lungs, liver, nervous system, and eyes. Ocular toxoplasmosis causes uveitis and potential blindness — a significant welfare concern in affected cats. Clinical disease in immunocompromised cats may represent reactivation of previously dormant tissue cysts triggered by the immune-suppressive effects of FIV, FeLV, or immunosuppressive drug therapy. Prevention through limiting hunting and raw meat consumption, combined with monitoring of immune-compromised cats, significantly reduces clinical disease risk. Veterinary treatment with clindamycin or pyrimethamine-sulfonamide combinations can reduce severity if initiated promptly.