The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, 1900 Coffey Road, Columbus, Ohio 43210.
Pace University, 861 Bedford Road, Pleasantville, New York 10570.
J Parasitol. 2022 Nov 1;108(6):595-599. doi: 10.1645/21-90.
Cats (Felis catus) have the potential to spread and infect humans and other animals with a variety of endoparasites. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of parasites in community, outdoor, and strictly indoor domestic cats in Rockland County, New York. Between November 2020 and June 2021, fecal samples were collected from 3 populations (community = 65, outdoor domestic = 28, strictly indoor domestic = 35). A minimum of 2 g of feces were collected per sample and examined with centrifugal fecal floatation tests with 33% zinc sulfate solution and microscopy. Overall, community cats had a significantly higher prevalence of parasites compared to outdoor and strictly indoor cats (chi-square test, X2 = 24.943, df = 2, P = 3.835 × 10-6). The most prevalent endoparasite in all 3 populations was Toxocara cati. There was a significant difference between the 3 populations and parasite richness (chi-square test, X2 = 25.452, df = 4, P = 4.081 × 10-5). Polyparasitism was frequently observed in the community population, followed by the outdoor population. This study demonstrates that because community cats spend their entire lives outdoors, they are more at risk of being exposed to parasites and contribute to the contamination of the environment with these parasites.
猫（Felis catus）有可能将各种内寄生虫传播和感染人类和其他动物。本研究旨在调查纽约罗克兰县社区、户外和严格室内家养猫中寄生虫的流行情况。在 2020 年 11 月至 2021 年 6 月期间，收集了 3 个群体（社区=65 只，户外家养=28 只，严格室内家养=35 只）的粪便样本。每个样本采集至少 2 克粪便，并用 33%硫酸锌溶液和显微镜进行离心粪便浮选试验进行检查。总体而言，与户外和严格室内猫相比，社区猫的寄生虫患病率显著更高（卡方检验，X2=24.943，df=2，P=3.835×10-6）。所有 3 个群体中最常见的内寄生虫是猫弓首蛔虫。3 个群体之间以及寄生虫丰富度存在显著差异（卡方检验，X2=25.452，df=4，P=4.081×10-5）。社区群体中经常观察到多种寄生虫感染，其次是户外群体。本研究表明，由于社区猫一生都在户外度过，它们更容易接触寄生虫，并导致这些寄生虫污染环境。
