Objectives: The goal of this retrospective case series was to report on the clinical aspects of confirmed Trichophyton species and Microsporum gypseum infections in cats from three animal shelters.
Methods: This was an observational retrospective study. Fungal culture and treatment data from three animal shelters was retrospectively reviewed to identify cats with dermatophytosis caused by Trichophyton species or M gypseum.
Results: Among the three shelters only four cats were diagnosed with M gypseum dermatophytosis. With respect to Trichophyton species infections, there were six cases identified and treated in a 1 year period in one shelter, 13 cases over 13 years in the second shelter and 27 cases over 5 years in the third shelter. Four cases of M gypseum dermatophytosis were treated in the third shelter. Young cats were most commonly infected and the disease was most commonly diagnosed in the fall and winter months. Lesions were inflammatory and found predominantly on the head and neck. There was a rapid response to treatment in all cases; mean (n = 20) and median (n = 17) days to mycological cure were calculated from available data. Fungal culture data revealed fomite carriage without clinical evidence of infection for Trichophyton species (n = 43) cats and M gypseum (n = 37) cats.
Conclusions and relevance: There is a paucity of clinical information about non-Microsporum canis dermatophytosis in shelter cats. This study data shows that Trichophyton species and M gypseum infections do occur but are uncommon. Based upon the rapid response to conventional treatment, these infections do not represent a treatment challenge, as most cats reached mycological cure within 3 weeks.
Keywords: Dermatophytosis; Microsporum gypseum; Trichophyton species; shelter.