How do cats become infected with Giardia?
The most likely transmission in cats is direct animal to animal (fecal-oral route). Cats can also become infected by drinking water containing the infective cysts. Once inside the intestine the cyst opens releasing two trophozoites.There are two stages to the life cycle. Trophozoites are the active motile (swimming) form & it is in this stage that lives in the intestines feeding & reproducing. The trophozoites have flagella, which are long hair like structures which enables toe protozoa to move around. During the feeding stage, the parasite replicates in the small intestine by binary fission (this is the asexual reproductive process where one cell divides into two cells.The trophozoites move towards the colon where they produce a cyst wall. The trophozoite within the cyst divides once, and this mature cyst now contains two trophozoites. This cyst is carried away by the passing fecal stream & leaves the body. [1] These cysts are extremely hardly and can survive for long periods in water
