Cat Immune System Disorders

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.

Cat immune system disorders.

The function of the immune system is to guard against pathogens such as bacteria and viruses by sending out fighter cells to attack them. And who is in control of our kitties immune system health. The damage done and resulting symptoms depend on which tissue is targeted. For example if red blood cells are attacked the cat becomes weak due to anemia from lack of blood cells.

Autoimmune disorders can affect all parts of the body including the skin and organs. Autoimmune disease in cats is one where antibodies or white blood cells are created and work against the body. An autoimmune disease is a condition in which the cat s immune system attacks healthy cells. Symptoms of autoimmune diseases in felines will vary depending upon the organ or system that has been affected.

Basically the cat s immune system attacks itself. Type iii immune disorders commonly cause inflammation in vital organs your cat s kidneys brain lungs or skin. 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. General signs of ill health such as fever fatigue muscle weakness diarrhea and vomiting can occur.

Congenital weak immune system in cats. This doesn t happen over night. In certain cases multiple organs and body systems are affected. 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.

Although the virus is slow acting a cat s immune system is. Cats who are infected with feline immunodeficiency virus fiv may not show symptoms until years after the initial infection occurred. You might also find that your cat is thirsty all the time. The symptoms depend on which organs the disorder affects.

Another way of putting it is that your cat s immune system has deteriorated to such an extent that now it is destroying itself. This happens as a result of an imbalanced immune system. Autoimmune diseases occur in both cats and dogs producing relatively similar symptoms.