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Yeast Infection in Cats, Dogs, Hounds, Horses and Animals - Symptoms, Causes, Treatment and Prevention

Introduction to Yeast Infection in Cats, Dogs, Hounds, Horses and Animals

Cats, Dogs, Hounds, Horses and other Animals can get yeast infections just like humans can.

Candida and other yeasts aren't picky about the living host they infect, and they're everywhere in the environment.

In addition, an animal that has a yeast infection can easily pass it on to their humans.

Candida yeasts are the most common yeasts that affect humans and animals, but there are a few more kinds that mostly affect animals only.

However, in the case of an immune compromised human, these yeasts can migrate easily.

Because we're used to the symptoms for human yeast infections, it can be difficult to accurately identify the source of an animal's infection correctly.

Causes of Yeast Infection in Cats, Dogs, Hounds, Horses and Animals

Animals get yeast infections for many of the same reasons that people do.

Chinks in the immune system brought on by medications, other diseases or stress leave our pets open to opportunistic organisms such as Candida yeasts.

Animals develop their problems due to a variety of causes, not all of which apply to humans.

Poor nutrition is one of the main reasons for animal yeast infections.

If your Cats, Dogs, Hounds, Horses or other animal isn't getting adequate protein, nutrients and minerals or too many carbohydrates, this can easily leave them in a weakened state and cause a yeast infection the opportunity to thrive.

In addition, animals can develop metabolic problems due to thyroid disease or producing young. These metabolic problems can deny them nutrients even if they're eating enough.

Another cause of Yeast Infection in Cats, Dogs, Hounds, Horses and Other Animals is inbreeding or illness.

Inbreeding among animals can cause serious immune system problems in and of itself, and is a main cause of animal yeast infections.

Inbreeding also leads to other genetic disorders that further drain the body's resources.

In addition, any illness that compromises the immune system such as liver failure, leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus can easily leave an animal open to yeast infections.

Overproduction of oils in the coat or chronic coat moisture can also provide a good environment to cause a yeast infection.

An animal's coat will often produce more oils in response to an allergic flare, while some animals just produce too much oils naturally due to genetics.

If this is one of the underlying causes, then it will have to be controlled either through controlling the allergy or controlling the overproliferation of oils.

Stress also causes animals to suffer from yeast infection.

Because they often don't understand and aren't adapted for the world we live in, there are some causes of stress most humans wouldn't expect.

Animals often aren't fond of change, such as boarding in a kennel or changing homes.

Extreme changes in their daily schedules can also cause animals of all kinds quite a lot of stress.

My dog, an Australian Shepherd, Ayla, came from a wonderful animal shelter that takes good care of its animals. She came to the shelter with demodectic mange, a type of parasite that isn't contagious to humans. She had to take a lot of medication to control it, but we thought it was managed when she came home with us.

We had to get her spayed and vaccinated shortly thereafter in accordance with local law.

The combination of her previous condition, the change in home, the vaccinations and her spay operation pretty much drove her stress levels through the roof.

She developed a severe full coat yeast infection, including in her ears and even one spot of swelling and hair loss on her left front foot.

It's now under control, but it went to prove how easy it is for animals who are under stress to get it.

After proper treatment, the only symptom left is that she hates to go to the vet.

In addition, both males and females can get stressed and anxious during breeding season and this can cause a yeast infection to set in.

Females will be stressed just from going through their yearly estrus cycle, but males get their stress if they have to be around those females.

A death or loss of a human or animal that they're accustomed to can cause an animal to experience a lot of stress.

Showing and travel cause anxiety in many animals, and the extreme weather changes often found with travel can be problems and may take some time to adjust to.

In addition, many animals don't deal well with various forms of overstimulation such as bright lights or loud sounds.

Of course, there are medications that can be a cause of yeast infections in cats, dogs, hounds, horses and other animals just like in humans.

Antibiotics are often one of the bigger culprits, just like in us.

The antibiotics cause the normal internal fauna and flora to go haywire, opening the way for a yeast infection.

Too many vaccinations, as often happens to animals picked up by an animal shelter, can cause problems with yeast infections.

If an animal is picked up who had their shots on time, but the animal shelter doesn't know that, the animal will be completely revaccinated in order to protect them and all the other animals in the shelter.

This is too many vaccinations and places a lot of stress on the immune system.

Some flea preparations and heartworm medications can also cause immune system compromise and yeast infection.

MINI FAQ: What causes oral yeast infections in dogs?

Our Boston Terrier, 4 yrs. old, has thrush.  Our vet diagnosed it, my husband took her in yesterday.  She had an inj. and also is on Ketoconazole and Rimadyl.  She is fed Pro-Plan dog food, not overweight, very active, and I cannot figure out how she could have "thrush".  Her water dish is washed frequently and so is her dish, where her dry dog food is in.  Maybe, need to wash it more frequently than every few days?  What do you think?  Vicky

Hi Vicky, I'm not up on animal mouth candida aka thrush aka yeast infection, but it can be due to contact with another animal that has a yeast infection, or even a utensil that may have been shared with another animal - stray dog entering the yard and using the food bowl for example, or at a dog show.

It can also be caused by the immune system not being up to par, eg the animal may be already ill.  Yeast infections are all round us, and inside of us, that's why it's important to keep the immune system healthy.

Could it be something else, maybe, always best to discuss these things with the vet.

Symptoms of Yeast Infection in Cats, Dogs, Hounds, Horses and Other Animals

The symptoms of yeast infections in cats, dogs, hounds, horses and other animals can vary quite a bit.

External symptoms of yeast infection include itchy skin, feet and ears, along with a lot of licking of the paws or of the genital area.

Ayla kept itching at the yeast infection in her ears, and I could see the yeast infection sores right within her big floppy ear flaps.

An itchy mouth, throat or face can be seen by lots of mouth or throat working along with attempts to scratch the face by whatever means possible, can also be symptoms of a yeast infection.

Frequent drooling can also be a sign of a mouth problem that may cause or be caused by a yeast infection.

Fur or hair covered skin can show flakiness, patchiness or scaliness right underneath the surface of the hair when a yeast infection is present.

Yeast infections also often produce symtpoms of redness, inflammation and odors from under the legs, within folds of skin, on the inner thighs of the back legs, between toes if applicable, and joint inflammation.

An intestinal yeast infection can be seen with symptoms of gastrointestinal problems such as bloating, gas, torsion/colic, lethargy, depression and fatigue.

Of course, if your animal is suffering from gastric torsion or colic, those are emergency situations and need direct treatment by a vet immediately. If they keep happening, look for an underlying cause.

Intestinal yeast infections can also produce a depressed immune system, symptoms of arthritis, and inadequate absorption of nutrients. The animal is eating enough of the right foods, but he or she still seems to be suffering from malnutrition.

A systemic yeast infection that gets into the bloodstream is an extremely dangerous thing for animals, just like for humans. However, an animal can't tell you that it feels bad, so you have to take the responsibility for keeping an eye out. Fever, chills, muscle pain, vomiting or diarrhea are all signs that you should call a vet fast.

Diagnosing Yeast Infection in Cats, Dogs, Hounds, Horses and Animals

A yeast infection should be diagnosed by a vet. There are several ways to do this yeast infection test for cats, dogs, hounds, horses and other animals with varying results.

The simplest is to press a microscope slide on the skin in order to collect yeast organisms.

Alternatively, a vet could press a piece of clear tape against the skin beyond the hair in order to get enough yeast to see under a microscope.

Rubbing a moistened cotton swab on the skin or taking a scraping of the skin surface with a small scalpel are progressively more accurate means of getting a sample.

A small skin biopsy is the most sure method, but it's also the most invasive and stressful to the animal.

Treatments and Prevention of Yeast Infection in Cats, Dogs, Hounds, Horses and Animals

First, of course, the cats, dogs, hounds, horses and other animals have to be treated for the yeast infection itself.

The most common way to do that is with a course of ketoconazole.

Animals are a bit harder to treat than humans, so the course of ketoconazole will probably be a thirty day endeavor instead of one, three, or seven days such as for people.

The entire course must be given whether or not your pet is still suffering from symptoms to avoid creating a resistant yeast strain.

It isn't the cheapest treatment in the world, but it's better than getting the yeast infection back over and over again because it wasn't completely eradicated the last time.

Please note that while a lot of work goes on at home to prevent yeast infections, there are no proven home cures for them. Don't try bathing your animal in vinegar or dropping anything in their ears as a home remedy for yeast infections, you won't solve the problem.

Second, you have to figure out why the cats, dogs, hounds, horses and other animals keep getting the yeast infection.

If it's due to poor nutrition, then that is obviously the place to start.

Find out the optimum diet for your particular animal and change over to it over a week's time.

In addition, carnivores like dogs and cats will often appreciate a bit of live culture yogurt off a spoon.

I've used yogurt on a spoon to train my dogs to stand still for dental work for years. They come to associate the touch of metal on their teeth with a tasty treat.

Herbivores such as horses can generally get probiotics from eating fresh grass, so a bit of yard or pasture time may be in order to let them get their systems working properly.

If the problem is due to inbreeding, all you can do is keep your pet as stress free and healthy as possible and hope for the best.

However, if the problem is due to a disease, then if you can control the disease you can control the yeast infection.

Yeast infections due to medications can often be fixed by changind medications, and yeast infections due to over-vaccination will generally clear up once the immune stress from the vaccines has diminished.

If the animal is getting the yeast infection due to stress, then you have to figure out how to reduce their stress. Animals don't know how to meditate and calm down, after all. Don't change their food around unless absolutely necessary, establish as consistent a routine as possible, separate females in heat from males if not actively breeding and limit the amount of stimuli the animal gets.

A common problem that people make is to try and reassure their animals when the pets start exhibiting stress.

This is a mistake.

In essence, you're rewarding the animal for being stressed, you're telling your pet that their stressed out reaction is the right one.

These poor animals can turn into a bundle of nerves in no time trying to make you happy and convinced that they're doing the right thing because you rewarded it with attention, petting or treats.

Number one, this makes them crazy to be around and number two, it encourages opportunistic infections like yeast problems.

If the problem is due to overactive oil glands, you have to determine why the animal has problems with oil production.

If it's due to allergies, then you can give your pet allergy medication and the yeast problem will probably clear up.

On the other hand, if the oil overproduction is due to genetics, then a regular degreasing bath with a special shampoo may be in order.

Either way, it's important to get it under control. Good luck if you own a cat, and I feel for you. I wear heavy sword fencing gauntlets whenever I have to bathe a cat.

Yeast Infection in Cats, Dogs, Hounds, Horses and Animals in Conclusion

Cats, dogs, hounds, horses and other animals suffer from yeast infection in silence, so it's up to us to keep on the lookout for them.

Whenever your pet gets a yeast infection, find the underlying cause because there always is one.

If you can find it and control or eliminate it, your cats, dogs, hounds, horses and other animals should never suffer from a yeast infection again.

References used for Yeast Infection in Cats, Dogs, Hounds, Horses and Animals

Taber's Medical Encyclopedia

Consultation with local vet's office

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