Large Cat Diseases

Large cats get sick, too. Some diseases that affect little domestic cats also bother the big cats such as lions, lynxes, pumas and bobcats. In some big-cat communities, large numbers even die of infectious diseases, confounding the people working hard to conserve the already-endangered feline species.

  1. Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)

    • First discovered in domestic cats in 1975, FIV also affects large cats, such as bobcats, puma and more than 80 percent of the lions in Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. According to Little Big Cat, FIV suppresses a cat's immune system, making it more vulnerable to infections. FIV currently has no cure and can lead to death, but many big cats with the condition live for many years without showing any symptoms.

    Babesiosis

    • A parasitic disease, babesiosis infects large cats through ticks and creates symptoms like those of malaria. According to Big Cat Rescue, the highly infectious babesiosis parasites are responsible for killing tigers in Van Vihar National Park in Bhopal, India. In the 18 months that led to December 2007, at least six tigers in the national park died of the disease, including a white tiger.

    Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

    • A disease that affects only big cats in captivity, CKD often leads to death. According to GreenFudge.Com, CKD threatens Iberian lynxes in breeding centers in Spain, with one out of every three Iberian lynxes showing CKD symptoms. Between December 2009 and March 2010, CKD killed three Iberian lynxes, which belong to the most endangered feline species in the world, with only 200 left in the wild.