Flagyl - I hate this medication!!!

Flagyl is VERY VERY VERY good medicine honey. Your vet gave her good meds. We use it all the time at the shelter i work at. (particulary when we suspect a parvo outbreak amoung our dogs.) It should actually HELP the diarreah clear up. Just exactly what specific side effects is she having. It could be the combination of the meds she's taking. (it's hard to know which one is causing the issues without seperating them indivdually and narrowing them down.) Flagyl can reduce her appetite a bit- but so can the other meds that she's on. As long as she's at least eating a little bit i wouldn't worry too much unless she starts to loose weight. The average flagyl dose only lasts 7-10 days so she shouldn't be on it for too long. What strength did they give her? She might need a lesser strength. I would offer her some good quality smelly soft food (if she's not eating well- usually kitties can be attracted better to soft fragrant food.) Stay clear of low quality foods that can cause more diarreah. Also - do not change her diet drastically eithor- that can make the diarreah worse as well...so if you give her a little bit of a treat...just giver her a pinch. Also- i have personally taken Flagy myself recently (actually, flagyl and cipro) when i was in the ER for a severe case of colitis and food poisioning- it helped the diarreah, but it did take my appetite a bit- so that seems to be a normal side effect. Don't worry too much- but if it continues ask your vet about possibly changing her to something a little less harsh. (Amoxicillin, doxicycline, tetracloride, clavamox...there are numerous options out there if flagyl doesn't work for her - amoxi. and clavamox are the most common ) Give the Flagyl some time though- it is good medicine and it really works well.

Well, I don't know if it counts , when I was on it (for at least 2 weeks), it totally changed my tastes in food. One of my favorite candies (mellowcream pumpkins!) tasted awful to me, and I developed a liking for green olives (which I had always hated! ) Now I like the sweet stuff again and the olives . Maybe you could just start offering her some things that she doesn't usually like, and see if she wants to try them? Just a thought .

Isn't Flagyl that awful tasting stuff? Is it possible to switch to Albon instead? At the shelter, we use Albon for loose stools & only use FLgyl for giardia because of more side effects/awful to medicate.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

Isn't Flagyl that awful tasting stuff? Is it possible to switch to Albon instead? At the shelter, we use Albon for loose stools & only use FLgyl for giardia because of more side effects/awful to medicate.

Click to expand...

Flagyl should be tasteless (or at least just like any other tablet.) The one the kitties all seem to hate is Amoxicillin. I've taken Flagyl myself and didn't find it to have a taste at all (unless you just let it sit on your tounge- then it just tastes like a powder.) Albon is good stuff, that might not be a bad idea That or even Clavamox.

We commonly use Flaygl liquid as it is much easier to get liquid in a cat than a pill. The liquid is supposedly extremely bitter(judging from the angry cat's faces). The downside with Albon is that it reuqires quite a bit, even for a smaller cat.

Originally Posted by white cat lover

We commonly use Flaygl liquid as it is much easier to get liquid in a cat than a pill. The liquid is supposedly extremely bitter(judging from the angry cat's faces). The downside with Albon is that it reuqires quite a bit, even for a smaller cat.

Click to expand...

You can have your shelter vet convert it into a powder form so that you can use it as an injectable I LOVE giving shots now much more than liquids!!! Sooooo less messs! At our shelter we normally just pill the kitties and dogs when we use Flagyl, that or we crush it with a pill crusher and add it to their soft food so they eat it right up

Just wanted to say that I hope Katy gets to feeling better soon.

I haven't had to use metronidazole with the cats but like others I've had to take it for colitis last year. It's also widely used in aquaria when treating for some internal parastic infections like Hexamita.

Sorry about hijacking you're thread Deb!

Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

You can have your shelter vet convert it into a powder form so that you can use it as an injectable

I LOVE giving shots now much more than liquids!!! Sooooo less messs! At our shelter we normally just pill the kitties and dogs when we use Flagyl, that or we crush it with a pill crusher and add it to their soft food so they eat it right up

Click to expand...

We don't have a shelter vet. We use a local vet. It is much cheaper to give the liquid then to pay someone to convert the stuff into a powder. Esp. being in such a rural area with so little funding!

I dont know if this is a factor, but I've taken Flagyl myself iin the past.
The worst side ffect for me was the awful taste in my mouth it left!
It was just awful! And anything I ate did improve it or make it taste right. Even mint or whatnot didnt improve it, even for a moment.

Maybe this is contributing to her non-eating?
I'm sorry I have nothing to suggest to circumvent that bad taste, if that is what it is.

Just found this thread--

For anyone having a tough time pilling a cat (either due to difficulty with abx or bitter meds like Flagyl, Fluoxetine, etc....)

Pill Pockets have been a miracle for many pet owners. They address the wheat gluten/recall issue in their site:

http://www.greenies.com/en_US/produc...l_pockets.asp?

http://www.greenies.com/en_US/2k6Sampling/

Not the most wondrous ingredients, but it's a small 'treat' that hides a med. I have seen pets froth at the mouth at bitter meds, either pills or liquid and in the next second chow down a pill pocket without an issue.

Debskats~~ Flagyl is a good med, but one of those good-sucky ones, heh. I am glad to read things are looking up.

Hi Debbie....

I have to give Flagyl alot around here with my 2 IBD girls. I've also noticed it causing lethargy in my girls and of course, lack of appetite.

I think I've figured out a way to avoid killing their appetite, though--at least to some extent----I give her a bowl of food & wait until I've seen her eat a fair amount and then give her the Flagyl immediately on top of the food--I guess digesting it on a full stomach helps at least a little. She vomits alot less and seems to maintain some or most of her appetite while she's on it. If you end up having to re-start Katy on it, maybe try that & see if it makes any difference?? In a few situations, I've even given her Cypro for a day or so to jump start her appetite to help counteract the Flagyl & make sure she's always got a full tummy.

It's a great med..........but the side effects are awful!!

Angie8~~

Great idea

Having cats keeps us creative, that is for sure.

Albon is used mostly for the treatment of coccidia. Flagyl is the most effective for diarrhea. (colitis, bacterial overgrowth, etc.) Flagyl does have one major side effect though... it can cause neurologic problems in some animals. It's rare, but I have seen it happen. As for the not eatting thing... it is an antibiotic and like any antibiotic, it can cause nausea. You may want to talk to your vet about adding a differant medication to help. (tagament, sucralfate, etc)

Hi Debbie
Hugs for you and Katy!

I've never seen any lethargy or inappetence issues with Cleo when she takes Flagyl for her IBD symptoms...however, she did get pretty elevated liver enzymes from it. Cleo got the liquid Flagyl that I put into gelcaps to prevent the foaming at the mouth business. Angie's suggestion about feeding first, then giving the Flagyl, sounds like a good idea. I wonder if Katy would benefit from getting Reglan to prevent any nausea associated with the Flagyl? I agree with everyone else...good drug/nasty side effects.


Pookie & the girls

The neurologic side effects normally appear as muscle tremors, or seizures. Its normally when animals are given a high dose, but some animals just cant handle it at all. I've only ever seen 2 cases of it happening, but its just something that people sould be aware of.

just remembered another appetite stimulant~~

cyproheptadine

It's actually an antihistimine but has been shown to spark up appetite.