Maine Coon has diarrhea? Possible cause is a Trichomoniasis foetus infection (treatment explained)

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Image: MikeB

This is a post that may help a Maine Coon cat owner whose cat is suffering from bad diarrhoea and the vet has been unable to get to the bottom of it. In the title I have referred to a Trichomoniasis foetus infection. First point: it seems that there are four acceptable spellings! These are the other three as I understand it:
  1. Trichomonosis
  2. Tritrichomonas
  3. Trichomonas
I have mentioned this for the sake of clarity. So what is this infection? It is a protozoan parasitic infection of the bowel causing colitis - a large bowel parasitic infection.

Fortunately I have found a case study of this disease affecting a Maine Coon. 

Case study

This is a case study of a two-year-old, 4.2 kg, spayed female Maine Coon. The cat was the subject of a scientific study. She suffered from the aforesaid parasitic infection together with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Perhaps the two go together, one causing the other.

This poor cat suffered terribly from diarrhoea. The cat had been acquired from a cattery at four months of age. She had acute diarrhoea that was worsening. She had moderate pain in the abdomen.

The following test was carried out: Faecal polymerase chain reaction and was found to be positive for this parasitic infection. The diagnosis was IBD and trichomonosis.

The treatment for this cat might interest readers. It was as follows:
  • A hypoallergenic diet. This is a mild commercially available diet usually in the form of dry food.
  • An oral omega-three fatty acid supplement
  • Prednisolone to manage the inflammatory bowel disease
  • Ronidazole was given to target the parasite.
The treatment proved successful and the Maine Coon cat was clinically normal after six months of treatment in a follow-up examination.

Hope this helps someone sometime! ☝😊

Study title:  Simultaneous occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease and trichomonosis in a Maine coon cat. Link to the study: Simultaneous occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease and trichomonosis in a Maine coon cat - PMC (nih.gov)

"Infection is generally more common in young cats, with most studies reporting increased levels of T. foetus infection in cats of 1 year of age or less" (sources: (Kuehner et al., 2011; Yao and Koster, 2015)

Disclaimer: I am not a vet but a bloody good researcher with a good knowledge of cat health and illness.

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Please excuse the occasional typo due to preparing these articles at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I don't have a proof reader.

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