Missy's story

I realize I post a lot about TF in cats with diarrhea. My goal is to try to raise the awareness of this parasite and the disease it can cause. I decided that maybe if I posted my Missy's story it might help others to understand the importance and my diligence about it. It is a painful story for me, even after better than 2 yrs. Missy was a little Cream & White Persian, she was my best friend and we shared a special bond. I also had her sister, a Brown Patch Tabby, whom I also loved with all my heart, the two were very close. Three years ago Tabby got a lung mass and we had 1/3 of her lung removed. Sadly she tryed to jump a week later and opened the stitches and bled, causing her death. Missy was so lost that after a month we decided to bring a kitten in to ease her pain, it did not work out and we returned the kitten a week later. Missy came down with diarrhea a few days after the kitten left. We tryed everything, it kept coming back. We tryed herbs, antibiotics, food change, you name it. She was finally diagnosed with IBD and put on Pred & Metronidazole, along with other stuff. She kept getting worse and finally quit eating. I syringe fed her but she started having seizures from the meds, she finally died, 8 mos after her sister. The kitten I brought home for her came from the same cattery as the two I have now. At that time I had never heard of Tritrichomonas, but it has since been decided by the vets and people within the circle of experts on this disease that what my Missy had was probably TF. If I had've known it existed she might be alive today, she was misdiagnosed and treated for something she didn't have. If I can help raise the awareness so more cats are tested and treated properly maybe she won't have died in vain.

I'm very sorry for your loss, it breaks my heart. It is a horribly hard pill to swallow, when a furkid dies and it's directly or indirectly related to misdiagnosis and resultant mistreatment. I applaud you for your devotion and diligence in spreading the word. I had never heard about this until reading some of your past posts, bless you for sharing. Do you have any good links to share? I'd like to read and bookmark them.

Hugs,
Lisa

Bless you for trying to bring awareness to this disease

Thank you. I tryed to link but if it doesn't work. Just search tritrichomonas in cats or Jody Gookin. She is the lead researcher and expert at NCSU.
http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/docs/documen...ised042808.pdf

Twokatz and I have become fast friends over the last couple of months as both of our kitties have tested positive for TF. I'm so glad you shared Missy's story with everyone and hope that it will help others as well.

I personally believe this parasite is a lot more common than most people think. We're always seeing posts on this forum for "chronic loose stools" with unknown causes. Unfortunately, so many vets don't know about TF or how to properly test for it (PCR), so those cats never get properly diagnosed. I too feel very strongly about raising awareness for this parasite and that's the sole reason I have the statement about it in my siggy.

Thanks again for sharing Missy's story twokatz!