Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan which commonly infects cats, dogs and
humans, causing toxoplasmosis. This disease, of great importance in public health, is
acquired by consumption of meat and by-products containing cysts, ingestion of food
and/or water contaminated with oocysts, as well as through the placenta. Congenital
Toxoplasma infections are reported in many species, being relevant in both medicine
and veterinary medicine. In cats, congenital toxoplasmosis is associated with the
occurrence of injuries in the liver, lungs, central nervous system and eyes, observed
when hosts are infected in the middle to the last thirds of pregnancy. Ocular form can
occur in young cats, infected through placenta, with no other clinical signs. The
objective of this chapter is to describe the main manifestations of congenital
toxoplasmosis in cats.
Keywords: Antibodies, Blindness, Chorioretinitis, Clinical signs, Diagnosis,
Epidemiology, Feline, Immunity, Miscarriages, Newborn, Pathology, Pregnancy,
Prevention, Prognosis, Queen, Stillbirths, Transmission, Treatment, Uveitis.
