Cats are not small dogs: is there an immunological explanation for why cats are less affected by arthropod-borne disease than dogs?

Table 1 Relative prevalence of canine and feline arthropod-borne infections

Infection	Dog	Cat	Recent reference for feline infection
Dirofilariosis	Common	Prevalence in cats ~10 % that in dogs	[104]
Babesiosis	Common	Uncommon (mostly in South Africa)	[105, 106]
Cytauxzoonosis	No	Yes	[107]
Haemotropic Mycoplasma	Problem only in splenectomized dogs	Common and clinically significant	[108]
Hepatozoonosis	Relatively common	Rare	[10]
Leishmaniosis	Common	Less common	[88, 89]
Borreliosis	Relatively common	Rare	[11, 109]
Bartonellosis	Less common?	Common	[110]
Ehrlichiosis	Relatively common	Rare	[111]
Anaplasmosis	Relatively common	Less common	[112]
Rickettsiosis	Relatively common	Less common	[113]

ISSN: 1756-3305