Isolation of fungal flora from the hair coats of shelter cats in the Pacific coastal USA

Two-hundred shelter cats from the Pacific western coastal USA were sampled in four different geographical regions to determine the fungal organisms mo st commonly found on the hair coat and the prevalence of these organisms. D ata on the cats' health, age, hair coat length, gender, and geographical lo cation were collected and analysed. The overall prevalence of dermatophytos is was 5.5% (11 of 200 cats), with Microsporum canis isolated in 90.9% (10 of 11) of the samples from positive cats. This was a lower isolation rate o r prevalence of dermatophytes than previous studies conducted on shelter ca ts in other regions of the USA. Ten of 11 of the cats were lesion free (eit her subclinical infection or mechanical carriage). Cats in the Los Angeles, California area (P = 0.001) and neutered male cats (P = 0.047) had a highe r prevalence of a positive dermatophyte culture. The numbers and types of s aprophytes isolated from cats in this study were found to be consistent wit h previous feline reports in the USA and with an equine study previously co nducted in this area.