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Toxoplasmosis is a disease of vertebrates (animals with backbones) caused by the microscopic organism, Toxoplasma gondii. Cats may show no signs of illness or may develop diarrhra, labored breathing, and lymph node enlargement. Toxoplasma organisms form cysts within the host and injure various organ systems, including the brain.
Only animals of the cat family are definitive hosts for this parasite. This means the parasite completes its life cycle in the cat, and stages of the organism capable of infecting other animals are passed in the cat's feces. Other animals are intermediate hosts because the parasite is found only in their body tissues and does not spread to other animals via the stool or other body fluids.
Intermediate hosts, however, serve as a source for toxoplasmosis if they are eaten by another animal, such as a cat eating an infected rodent. Infected cats pass Toxoplasma eggs for approximately 2 weeks in their feces; after which time they begin to develop some natural resistance to the organism and no longer pass eggs unless their immune system becomes weakened. The eggs are not capable of causing infection to others until about 24 hours after they are passed in the feces. Eggs can survive on the outside for several months in warm, moist environments.
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