Coccidia contagious?

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Long story short, I walked into the vet's today with a dog and left with a dog and a kitten. No, the dog did not give birth to a kitten (that was my husband's guess).

 

The kitten who was feral up to today, left with loads of meds for coccidiosis. He's got it BAD, poor baby.

 

He's currently quarantined in an x-pen, but how long should I keep him there? Till he's asymptomatic? Till he finishes his meds? In a few days we'll have to close off the top to keep him in - it would be convenient if we just didn't have to keep him there in a few days.

 

Also, how contagious is this to my adult dogs?

 

Finally, should I take extreme precautions visiting my friend's three week old pups - new clothes, shoes, parvo spray? Or should I not go at all for - how long?

 

I'll talk to my vet tomorrow of course, but I like to ask these things while I'm thinking of them. For some reason that never seems to happen when Dr. Cowan is standing in front of me saying, "Now, do you have any other questions?"

[2 Devils]

Now Rebecca what are we going to do with you? Taking in a cat Seriously that was very kind of you.

 

Coccidia is contagious but I am not sure for how long. My cattledog picked up while at the herding trainer's house.

 

I was lucky, she was going in for her annual vaccinations and poop check. The vet techs actually found it while in the early stages.

 

I did not have to quarantine her from the other dogs. I did take their samples in and they were fine. Not sure why 1 got it and the others didn't. The vets just told me to make sure to pick up after Foster (which I always did) and just keep an eye on the other dogs. On my own 2 months down the road I did take another sample in just to be safe and all was clear.

 

I know this does not answer your questions but at least it tells you my experience.

 

Regarding visiting the puppies: I would make sure to change clothes and shoes before visiting them. Coccidia may not effect adults the same way as a puppy and could really make a puppy very sick.

 

Kim

[Rave]

Becca, bleach *everything* including yourself, then go naked and take pictures of the puppies! your own humiliation is nothing compared to my own selfish desire for more puppy pics!

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Um, thanks for your help Laura - I knew I could count on you. At least I could keep myself out of the picture - you are evil when you have a camera in hand, I know!

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Thanks Kim - I've dealt with coccidia a bit with the rescues, when I took in puppies - never had it spread to my adults. But I always had them in quarantine, and I'm highly concerned about the pups - at Steve's and when I bring mine home in a few weeks.

[sea4th]

Just an additional comment here. I had a rescue boy go to his new home not too long ago. At one point, he had coccidiosis. He was treated and is now OK. The new owner's vet, at least that's what I was told, questioned the raw diet as a possible cause, even though the rest of the dogs at my house are negative for it and ate the same stuff.

 

Years ago I had a couple of pups with coccidia. Both came from the same working farm at different times and both came to me in our pre-raw feeding days.

 

It really was rough on them as pups. I honestly thought it was parvo at first until tests came back positive for coccidia and they were treated accordingly.

 

Nasty stuff.

 

Just my 2 cents

 

Vicki

[Carson Crazies]

Here is a site I found that gave some information. Probably not enough to address all of your concerns, but maybe a tad. I found it interesting, and something I would have had no clue about had you not brought it up.

 

Info on Coccidia

 

Good luck!

[Rebecca, Irena Farm]

Oddly, the only pup I've ever had here that didn't ever get coccidia was Jen, who started on raw at seven weeks, on her arrival - which also was the time I started everyone else.

 

I think Hemi (the new kitty) picked up the bug from eating mice and garbage, since he was basically found in the trash dump behind Food Lion. He had it before I even touched him.

 

He's definitely acting like he's landed on his feet. Naturally he's doing a lot of resting today.

[AK dog doc]

Coccidia IS contagious, though in adults it tends to be mild and self-limiting. In puppies (or other young animals) it can occasionally be fatal, since the diarrhea and vomiting (which CAN closely mimic parvo) can lead to severe dehydration and electrolyte loss. Adults may be resistant to it, so in general I don't treat asymptomatic adults unless there's a question of carrier status.

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: It is also contagious to people. Every year some vet student gets it from the necrospsy room, often from a calf that died of "calf scours", the generic term for severe diarrhea in calves. (In our year, it was a friend of mine, who told me: "I spent 24 hours on the toilet. I got up twice - to vomit." Then he laughed insanely, evidently thinking this hilarious - just another indicator that you can become truly unhinged while undertaking a course of study in an intensive medical program. Of course, some of us started out closer to that line than others...)

 

Anyway, transmission is fecal-oral, and adults who are resistant may show no signs. Carrier status is possible, so if you see repeat bouts in the same household I'd be suspicious. However, it's pretty common in many environments (we see quite a lot of it up here), so it can be acquired in the general course of living in the big wide world. Generally we have little to no trouble clearing it up.

 

Once the course of treatment is complete, you should be able to return the animal to the general population. If you have any doubts, have a repeat fecal done to be sure the animal is clear. Since there is a chance of transmssion on fomites (objects) such as your shoes and clothing, I'd be careful about hygiene when visiting your friend's pups until you have it eradicated.

 

Hope that helps.