Cat Immune System Disorders

Congenital weak immune system in cats.

Cat immune system disorders.

Cats who are infected with feline immunodeficiency virus fiv may not show symptoms until years after the initial infection occurred. Basically the cat s immune system attacks itself. The damage done and resulting symptoms depend on which tissue is targeted. Autoimmune diseases occur in both cats and dogs producing relatively similar symptoms.

Another way of putting it is that your cat s immune system has deteriorated to such an extent that now it is destroying itself. And who is in control of our kitties immune system health. This doesn t happen over night. Alternatively an overactive immune system can attack parts of its own body that it misidentifies as foreign causing what is known as an autoimmune disorder.

Autoimmune disorders can affect all parts of the body including the skin and organs. An autoimmune disease is a condition in which the cat s immune system attacks healthy cells. In certain cases multiple organs and body systems are affected. General signs of ill health such as fever fatigue muscle weakness diarrhea and vomiting can occur.

For example if red blood cells are attacked the cat becomes weak due to anemia from lack of blood cells. Although the virus is slow acting a cat s immune system is. You might also find that your cat is thirsty all the time. Disorders resulting from an underactive immune system called immunodeficiencies put animals at an increased risk for infections.

The symptoms depend on which organs the disorder affects. Symptoms of autoimmune diseases in felines will vary depending upon the organ or system that has been affected. This happens as a result of an imbalanced immune system. Systemic lupus erythematosus sle in cats autoimmune diseases are the result of an immune system that has become hyper defensive attacking the cells tissues and organs of its own body as if they are diseases that need to be destroyed.

Autoimmune disease in cats is one where antibodies or white blood cells are created and work against the body. A weak immune system can either be a congenital disorder that the cat was born with or the immune system can become weakened due to conditions that are known to attack the infection fighting white blood cells phagocytes. Type iii immune disorders commonly cause inflammation in vital organs your cat s kidneys brain lungs or skin.