Demodicosis in domestic cats – a review

Abstract

Demodicosis is an uncommon disease in the clinical-dermatological routine of felines. It can be caused by the Demodex gatoi or Demodex cati, and a new, as yet unnamed species has been reported. Numerous forms of diagnosis and therapeutic protocols have been reported for canine demodicosis for years. However, there are few current studies on the subject in felines. Therefore, the present work aims to carry out a literature review on this skin disease, with a description of its etiology, epidemiology, clinical signs, diagnosis and current forms of treatment, as feline demodicosis still has a therapeutic and diagnostic difficulty because it is a rare and low-incidence disease. Future studies are still needed to reach a better understand of the disease and to define a more concise therapeutic protocol, including standardization of doses and frequency of administration.