Prevalence of enteric zoonotic agents in cats less than 1 year old in Central New York State

A prevalence study of several enteric zoonotic bacterial and parasitic infe ctions was conducted in 263 fecal samples from cars that were between 1 and 12 months old. and that were in humane shelters (n = 149) or were presente d to primary-care veterinarians (n = 114). Of these samples, 2 (0.8%) were positive for Campylobacter, 2 (0.8%) were positive for Salmonella, and 10 ( 3.8%) were positive for Cryptosporidium, confirming that these zoonotic age nts are relatively rare in cats. Toxocara cati (33.0%) and Giardia (7.3%) w ere found more commonly. Ar least 1 zoonotic agent was detected in 105 samp les (40.7%). Our results suggest that clinical signs such as diarrhea are n ot reliable predictors of whether a cat is actively shedding enteric organi sms. Therefore, the decision to test a newly adopted cat should be based on the potential risks to the client rather than on the cat's clinical presen tation. The high prevalence of T. cati confirms that comprehensive testing or treatment for ascarids is warranted in newly adopted kittens.