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Monday, May 4th, 2026.

Firehouse, Engine Company 31.

Welcome back for another installment of The Scratching Post! This week we’re gonna go over another Protozoan parasite that has an increase in rainy weather as well. As usual I will go over transmission, symptoms, and treatment. Lets get to it!

What is Coccidia?

Coccidia is a protozoan parasite that has multiple life stages, most importantly nonsporulated (noninfective) oocysts, sporulated (infective) oocysts and Zoites. The Zoites live in the tissues of cats, dogs and prey animals and are infectious through ingestion of the infected tissue. These resting or latent stages are not thought to cause clinical disease but can manifest due to environmental factors. Like Giardia, Coccidia is spread by infected feces as well. Unfortunately, Coccidia lasts MUCH longer in the environment than Giardia. In moist, protected environments the sporulated oocysts can last up to 1 year. That is, as long as they’re not exposed to freezing or extremely high temperatures. One nice thing about Coccidia is that it is species specific, meaning that cats cannot get it from dogs, and vice versa. Also we cannot get it from our pets, except for 2 strains, Toxoplasmosis(from cats) and Cryptosporidium. The life stage that is shed in the stool is the nonsporulated oocysts. These at first aren’t infectious, but can rapidly become infectious after about 16 hours in temperatures between 86 and 98 degrees Fahrenheit. Temperatures below 68 degrees and above 104 prevent this transformation from happening. So what does that tell us? That here in the Napa Valley, Coccidia is basically year round.

How does Coccidia affect my pet? What kind of testing can be done?

If your pet contracts Coccidia, symptoms include diarrhea, with or without mucus and blood, vomiting, loss of appetite, dehydration, and if left untreated could result in death. Young dogs and cats, or pets with weakened immune systems, are more likely to contract Coccidia than adult animals. Puppies can occasionally come with Coccidia which they most likely got from their mother and show no symtpoms at all. Stress on the pet, either due to moving or changes in the household or other factors, may exacerbate the disease and cause the pet to become symptomatic. 

Coccidia, like Giardia, is spread through the feces so a fecal test is the way to find out if your pet is infected. Be aware that being Coccidia positive does not necessarily mean that it is the cause of your pets symptoms.

What is the treatment for Coccidia?

Thankfully treatment is pretty short and inexpensive. Most Veterinarians will use Sulfadimethoxine, but there are some other combinations that have been used to some degree of success. Usually the pet will receive a large dose the first day, and then a smaller dose for the next few days to couple weeks depending on the Veterinarians protocol. Owners will also need to dispose of fecal material promptly, to avoid re-infection. Once treatment has concluded, another fecal test should be done to make sure that no parasites are present. 

There you have it folks. Coccidia is very similar to Giardia being that its the same organism type, in the way its spread and where it affects the animal. Thankfully this disease is a little easier to deal with than Giardia. Unfortunately it does last longer in the environment, so you should take the necessary steps to prevent infection, and re-infection if your pet has had Coccidia. I hope you you all have an idea what to look for should your pet show signs of illness. One thing to watch for, this is from my experience and i don’t think there’s any literature behind this so take it with a grain of salt, is soft, yellowish, “grainy” looking, FOUL smelling stool. I’ve handled a lot of stool samples in my many years working in this field and I have noticed that the samples like that have more often than not come back Coccidia positive. I will post some links below if you wish to read further in depth. Thanks again for reading!

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/digestive_system/coccidiosis/coccidiosis_of_cats_and_dogs.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccidia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coccidiosis