Can I keep her?

Hello!

This is the old thread, it was getting too big for me to navigate since I am such a novice at posting. Hope I am not breaking some kind of etiquette that I don't know about! (Old thread http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=201501 )

To summarize, kitty peed all over, poo'd all over, has diarrhea and has cost me around $2000 so far in her year of life.

Got a bigger litter box as people suggested but.. she now tracks the poo down the hallway and such, it's so loose that it gets on her paws and I get to follow pooprints down the side of the box, over the carpet, down the hallway, on the walls.. .. yuck.

Going to bring another sample to the vets tomorrow. If they say Giardia it will be the third time, which we treated and disinfected the WHOLE house. I mean the entire thing, moving the sofa and television, new bowls/litter/boxes everyday.

I think about giving her up to someone that has the money, but she is such a sweet cat that I honestly don't think I could. I worry about the following:

1. Children in the house. (Would like to have some soon of my own, If kitty is sick now and through all this I doubt any amount of money will cure her.. not like I can afford it anyway.) Either way, friends have children that come over, don't need them crawling through giardia/diseased cat poo.

2. Her playmate kitty, who would be lost without her, but the vet tells me may be getting ill because of her.

3. Money, I simply cannot spend any more money on her, I worry I can't give her the care she needs, but I worry nobody will take her and she will be put down. (She is the most friendly, approachable, cuddly kitty I have ever known.. though she stinks.. because of being sick.)

4. I worry she is suffering.

To address the peeing thing, I discovered the cause and it seems to be cleared up! She had been sitting on a blanket and unbeknownst to me.. poo dribbled out on it and dried. She then sniffed it, figured it was a box type area.. and peed. Then she tried to bury it. The blanket has been cleaned thoroughly and put away in the attic, we have plenty more clean ones and she hasn't had any pee issues since.

Any help on the poo issue and maybe some advice on what you would do would be greatly appreciated, I am torn. I want to keep her and adore her, she is already a part of the family, but I don't want her to suffer because I can't take care of her and then I don't know if I am making a hazardous place for other animals/people.

Thanks.

Many cats with chronic loose stools also poop outside the box. As for giardia - from what I've read - a stool sample can come back negative, yet giardia can still be present in the intestines (if I am remembering right). I know that's not awfully helpful....but good to know. I didn't read the entire other thread - have you sought the second opinion of a different vet? I know that means more $$, but sometimes two heads are better than one.

Realistically, to be honest, if she came into the shelter here we wouldn't have the funds to treat her & she would be euthanized. I'm not going to sugarcoat that....as harsh as it sounds.

The problem with giardia is that it is extremely difficult to cure - usually the antibiotics make it better for a while, then it comes back...
I started a thread a while back, and maybe you can be one to give us feedback? It is a totally natural treatment for protozoa (like giardia), and the Dr. Jean, the vet, says she has 100% success with it.... I think there is nothing to lose!!
Here you go:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.ph...turaltreatment
Good luck

I am going to agree with the second opinion from a different vet.

It always seems to me that when a pet has a chronic condition and has been to your normal vet time after time, they tend to start running out of ideas and just begin to tell you the same old thing every visit. A new vet will have a fresh pair of eyes on the situation and may even be able to give you other options.

A cat only vet might also be a good idea if you have one near you.

Maybe you can work WITH a local rescue? I'm sure they'd love to help you keep the kitty in her current home, but I can't believe how much you've already put up with! I hope you find a solution that works for everyone.

Aww. Hope she feels better soon ...

Don't know what to say about correcting the problem.. But, have you tried kitty diapers?

Having had giardia in the house, I know how much of a pain it is and that's an understatement! It was brought in by a foster who was quarantined at the vets and in my home, we managed to get rid of until I had to give him to another fosterer who then lost him... I eventually got him back only to find that the giardia had returned and it got passed onto my cats. After a long fight and finally getting the foster in a quarantine pen, I was able to get the giardia out of my house.

Everything returned to normal for a week or so, the cats were all on probiotics to get their stomachs sorted and all seemed fine. Then Emmy started with squishy poos again . Back to the vets we went, they tested her for giardia which came back negative, they put her through xrays which showed up fine. In the end we decided to put her back on a course of probiotic and sensitivity food. Since then she's been fine!! Our vet seems to think that either the giardia or medication has damaged the lining of her intestines hence her needing the sensitive food. I daren't try her on different food in case she can't cope with it.

So like others have said, get a second opinion and try not to give up. I know what's it's like cleaning up poo all the time though so you do have my sympathy.

Perhaps you can get another stool sample to the vet. I think I posted about this in your other thread, but to test for giardia, you cannot do it just once and take "negative" as the answer - it must be several stool samples over a several day period. If your vet did not tell you this, then you definitely need to see another vet.

Giardia forms in "cysts" in the colon - and soft stools will not necessarily "slough" any of the cysts off - so a cat with giardia can test negative.

In the meantime, try switching her to a food for sensitive stomachs - and try the probiotics, as suggested by Jupeycat.