Animal cruelty is defined as a deliberate action that causes pain and suffering to an animal. In Brazil, legislation known as the Environmental Crimes Law states that cruelty toward all animal species is criminal in nature. From 644 domestic cats necropsied between January 1998 and December 2009, 191 (29.66%) presented lesions highly suggestive of animal cruelty. The main necroscopic finding was exogenous carbamate poisoning (75.39%) followed by blunt-force trauma (21.99%). Cats from 7 months to 2 years of age were the most affected (50.79%). In Brazil, violence is a public health problem and there is a high prevalence of domestic violence. Therefore, even if laws provide for animal welfare and protection, animals are common targets for violent acts. Within a context of social violence, cruelty toward animals is an important parameter to be considered, and the non-accidental lesions that were found are evidence of malicious actions.
Background
Tritrichomonas foetus is an emergent and important enteric pathogen of cats, which causes prolonged diarrhoea in cats.Case presentationThis study describes a T. foetus infection in a seven-month-old, entire male domestic shorthair kitten with a six-month history of persistent large intestinal diarrhoea, faecal incontinence, prostration, apathy and weight loss. Parasites were microscopically observed and confirmed by PCR and DNA sequencing. Molecular analyses were carried out comparing the sequence obtained in this study with T. foetus and T. suis. Retrieved from GenBank. After treatment with ronidazole, the cat showed resolution of clinical signs.ConclusionsThis is the first clinical case of T. foetus infection in a chronic diarrheic cat in Brazil and South America, confirming the presence of this pathogen in this part of the world and highlighting the importance of this protozoa being considered in the differential diagnosis of cats presenting diarrhoea of the large intestine. Our case report enriches our knowledge on the geographical distribution of T. foetus in cats in Brazil and provides further understanding of the clinical significance of feline intestinal trichomoniasis in this country.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-017-1026-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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