Cats are probably infected by inoculating bacteria laden flea feces into a flea bite wound or directly into the skin. However, kittens born from seropositive queens will be seropositive for B. henselae antibodies up to 40-60 days of age due to maternal derived antibodies. Diagnosis in cats Identifying infected cats is not easy. The immunoflorescent antibody test indicates exposure to the organism, but is not predictive of bacteremia. Bacteremia has been demonstrated in seronegative cats.
Negative cultures do occur due to fluctuations in the level of the organism in the cat s blood.
Four to six negative blood cultures over a 4-6 month period are needed before a cat is considered B. henselae negative. Prevention and Control Flea control is essential for prevention of infection in cats. The use of antibiotics to treat infected cats has been proposed, but experimental studies have produced conflicting results. It should also be noted that differences in the level of bacteremia in cats was also observed between the two studies, with cats in the first study having 10-100 fold higher levels of organism in their blood. To date, no antibiotic therapy has be found that uniformly clears B. henselae infection in cats.