Background: Cytauxzoonosis is an emerging and fatal disease of wild and domestic cats in India. Till date no chemotherapy has proved successful in achieving hundred percent survival. In this study we aimed to evaluate various therapeutic strategies to suggest an effective and safe drug combination for clinical management of domestic cats naturally affected cytauxzoonosis. 
 
Methods: The domestic cats presented at VCC, Bihar Veterinary College, Patna, Bihar were screened on the basis of clinical symptoms of cytauxzoonosis irrespective of their age, sex or breed. The disease was confirmed by peripheral blood smear and Polymerase Chain Reaction test. Informed consent was taken from the cat owners before inclusion in this study. The confirmed cases were randomly divided into two treatment protocols, imidocarb dipropinate group (T-1) and doxycycline, clindamycin and metronidazole group (T-2). In group T1 imidocarb was given @ 3.5 mg/kg deep intramuscular which was repeated after 14 days. While cats in group T2 received doxycycline @10 mg/kg PO sid for 14 days, clindamycin @ 12.5mg/kg PO sid for 14 days and metronidazole benzoate@ 25 mg/kg PO sid for 7 days. A separate group of six healthy cats, negative for microscopic and molecular tests was taken as a control (T-3). 
 
Result: It was found that both treatment protocols cleared erythro-parasitemia and brought clinical remission within 14 and 21 days of treatment in cats of group T1 and T2 respectively. However, improvement in morbidity and hemato-biochemical parameters were more rapid in imidocarb treated cats. No serious side effects or mortality could be recorded in cats that received the treatment protocols used in this study.&nbsp; But none of these treatment protocols could sterilize the infection and rendered the cats as carrier for life.

Comparative Efficacy of Imidocarb Dipropionate and Doxycycline, Clindamycin, Metronidazole Combination for the Treatment of Cytauxzoonosis in Domestic Cats