What Are Fecal Flotation and Giardia Tests?
Roundworms,
hookworms, whipworms, and microscopic
intestinal parasites(like coccidia and
Giardia) are relatively common in pets, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t cause serious illness. Young, sick, or debilitated pets can even die if they are heavily infected with parasites. If your pet has parasites, accurate diagnosis, including identification of the parasite(s) present, is important to determine the best treatment and help ensure a full recovery. Fecal diagnostic tests, such as fecal flotation and
Giardia testing, are an important part of this process.
Why Does My Pet Need Fecal Flotation and Giardia Testing?
Parasites can cause clinical signs such as diarrhea,
vomiting, and weight loss. If your pet is showing any suspicious signs, your veterinarian may recommend performing fecal flotation and
Giardia testing to determine if parasites are the cause. However, some pets don’t develop clinical signs, so periodic testing of “healthy” pets is also recommended. Your pet’s routine wellness examination is a convenient time to perform parasite testing. Even pets that regularly receive parasite preventive medication (e.g., daily or monthly medication) should be tested periodically because no single medication is effective against all possible parasites.
Any new pets that are being introduced into your home (whether adult pets or puppies/kittens) should be tested for parasites before meeting your other pets. Many parasites are transmitted through contact with fecal material, so if your new pet has worms, he/she can infect your other pets. Even if your new pet seems perfectly healthy, you should schedule an examination with your veterinarian as soon as possible. Parasites, viruses, and other medical problems aren’t always apparent, so your veterinarian may recommend a fecal flotation and Giardia test, along with some other diagnostic tests, to help ensure that your new pet is healthy before playing with your other pets and family members.
Some
intestinal parasites, such as
roundworms and
hookworms, are zoonotic. This means that they can infect humans. Periodically testing your pets for parasites is a good way to help protect your other family members.
To what degree a feral cat is wild depends on several factors. Foremost, is the age of the cat. Young kittens are more capable of being socialized and successfully re-introduced to domestic life than a feral adult. Another factor is what generation feral is the cat. A kitten born outdoors to a mother who was herself formerly domestic is likely to socialize easier than one born to a mother who is seventh generation feral. The extent of daily human contact also plays an important role in determining how wild a cat will be. If cats have regular interaction with people, such as in a community garden, they will tend to be friendlier and more approachable than if they live in a back alley where people rarely venture. Finally, there's the wild card factor, which is the particular cat's personality. It's not unheard of for someone to tame an older, multi-generational feral who has been largely isolated from people, but this is the exception.
