Prevalence of Salmonella sp. in domestic cats in an animal shelter and the comparison of culture and polymerase chain reaction techniques as diagnostic tools

Previous studies on the prevalence of Salmonella in cats have used a variety of culture methods producing a variety of results, but none have been compared to PCR. Using a double enrichment protocol developed at Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory the prevalence of Salmonella in shelter cat feces was determined in this current study. The culture protocol used included Xylose Lysine Tergitol 4 (XLT4) and MacConkey (MAC) agars with a primary enrichment in Tetrathionate broth (TTH) with iodine and a secondary enrichment in Rappoport-Vassilaidis R10 broth (RV). This study further modified an equine PCR technique and demonstrated its successful use in cats. When comparing the results of the two protocols, PCR and culture, it was found that the procedures are equally adequate at detecting the presence of Salmonella in cat feces. This study further confirmed that Salmonella is a potential hazard for families who adopt shelter cats.