This is a blood parasite which is almost always fatal in domestic cats.  We find this disease occuring mostly in Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida.  This parasite is carried by bobcats and the Florida Panther, and neither show any clinical disease or signs of illness.  It is then transferred to the domestic cats through the saliva of an infected tick.  This organsim causes destruction of the red blood cells, which causes anemia.  You may see signs in your cats like a fever, not eating, difficult breathing, dehydration, a yellow color to their skin, and lethargy.  Death almost always occurs about 3 days after signs appear.  There is no successful treatment at this time, and no vaccination to prevent this fatal parasitic disease.  The best thing to do for your cat is to apply a topical tick prevention, like Frontline, every 3 weeks during tick season. 

*This is an off label use for Frontline