?spirochete in cat urine

RE: ?spirochete in cat urine

Rob Davis — Mon, 15 Aug 2016 15:25:35 GMT

Many thanks for all the replies. I'm sure the spirochetes are not clinically relevent, the cat if improving.

RE: ?spirochete in cat urine

Beats — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 22:58:51 GMT

Spirrulum e.g. Spirrulum volutans?

https://microbewiki.kenyon.edu/index.php/Spirillum

RE: ?spirochete in cat urine

Anthony Todd — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 15:45:41 GMT

[quote user="Anthony Dennison"]Possible options - could be a naturally occuring non-pathogenic spirochaete that is just an incidental finding.[/quote]

+1, Sounds like this is incidental to a semi paralysed bladder after HBC/ accident?

Pretty unlucky to get lepto and an accident....

RE: ?spirochete in cat urine

Richard Carter — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 12:30:54 GMT

this isn't lepto - far too big - may be a treponema or lungworm larva?

RE: ?spirochete in cat urine

mariette asselbergs — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 23:21:13 GMT

The same review also says that the width of leptospires is below the resolution capacity of the light microscope and that they cannot be seen in urinary sediment with normal light microscopy.

So your blue zigzaggy things must be something else....

Mariette

RE: ?spirochete in cat urine

mariette asselbergs — Thu, 11 Aug 2016 23:09:23 GMT

In the JSAP 2015 (56) p159-179 European Consensus statement on leptospirosis in dogs and cats, they say that leptospirosis is rare in cats but that both dogs and cats can shed leptospirosis in the urine.

However, I don't think that they stain with Giemsa, you normally need to see them with dark field or contrast microscopy and they are then much smaller and thinner than the ones seen in your sample.

Best thing probably to do two serum tests.

Mariette

RE: ?spirochete in cat urine

Rob Davis — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 12:59:42 GMT

[quote user="Anthony Dennison"]Would you say this is a standard case though, with the cat having been found in a ditch? Higher chance of opportunistic infection.[/quote]

Fair point. The cat does have bladder atony and is easy to express so probably higher risk of ascending infection if sitting in dirty ditch water...

RE: ?spirochete in cat urine

Anthony Dennison — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 11:00:00 GMT

[quote user="Rob Davis"]Definite possibility, but I've not seen these before and I look at cat urine pretty much every day. I suspect it's not relevent to the case but am curious.[/quote]

Would you say this is a standard case though, with the cat having been found in a ditch? Higher chance of opportunistic infection. Could go for a Lepto snap test to rule it out I guess.

RE: ?spirochete in cat urine

Rob Davis — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 09:47:38 GMT

[quote user="Anthony Dennison"]Possible options - could be a naturally occuring non-pathogenic spirochaete that is just an incidental finding.[/quote]

Definite possibility, but I've not seen these before and I look at cat urine pretty much every day. I suspect it's not relevent to the case but am curious.

[quote user="Anthony Dennison"]Could also be some sort of debris/contamination from your diff-quick? How fresh are your pots?[/quote]

Stains are changed regularly and given the number seen in the slide I do think they are genuine organisms of some sort.

RE: ?spirochete in cat urine

Anthony Dennison — Tue, 09 Aug 2016 09:23:02 GMT

Possible options - could be a naturally occuring non-pathogenic spirochaete that is just an incidental finding.

Could also be some sort of debris/contamination from your diff-quick? How fresh are your pots?