Vet visit not so good, any advice please

I'm crying as I write this because I just have no idea what to do. Piper is having diarrhea more and more often and no one can figure out what is going on.

We went to a new vet again today and he looked at stool slides for a good 15-20 minutes but said he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Even there at the vets office she was still having some seepage and he said that it was not normal and that there was something wrong but he just wasn't sure what. He gave us some prescription food to try and some pill to try. Then he said that if that didn't work he would refer me to an internal medicine vet.

Well, we got home and Piper liked her food ok but the pill was a whole different story. I have given cats pills before but lets just say she is not a pill taking kind of cat. She made herself throwup all over the place and was foaming and drooling everywhere for a good 30 minutes. She does a lot better with liquid meds. I called the vet back and they said to try and crush it up in her food but now she won't touch her food with the pill crushed up in there.

And to top this all off, we can't afford to see an internal medicine vet. My husband is just ready to give up and give her back to the shelter but I just refuse. She is my baby and I just can't do that. Plus, since she is ill I'm sure they would just put her down and I cant let that happen. We have already spent so much trying to figure out what is wrong with her and we have gotten no answers.

I just don't know what to do anymore. Does anyone have any ideas or know of a good vet in the hampton roads area?

Oh yeah, and I have tried to get a hold of the lady we adopted her from or the shelter to see if any of their other cats have tested positive for anything or had any diarrhea also to see if I could find a direction to head in but I can't seem to get anyone to answer there or call me back.

Can you refresh my memory? Has Piper been tested for giardia and coccida? These, I think, require special tests, to determine the presence of them. Metronidazole (flagyl) is usually prescribed for these, I understand it is very difficult to get rid of, but possible. Takes aggressive treatment. The medicine is probably very bitter, since she is foaming.

Get some plain gelatin capsules, and put the pills in them before giving the pill. She won't taste a thing, and it will slip right down.

Or it could be food allergy related. Of course you don't want to give up on her. We'll help you.
.

Ok... calm down... Are these pills Metronidazole?
Because if they are, they taste HORRIBLE, and yes, your cat will foam, spit, and do anything to not taken them.
What I do, is I wrap them in Greenies Pill Pockets - you can get them at petco, petsmart, etc. Ant then I pill the kitty...
I do NOT follow the pill pocket instruction, meaning: I do not feed the pill like a treat - I wrap the pill in it and the I put the pill as far back on the kitty's throat as I can, and close her mouth. The pill pocket will coat the flavor, so no foaming, no spitting... It will do the same as gelatin capsules, it is just easier to find. This is what it is: http://www.greenies.com/en_US/Produc...llPockets.aspx
Metronidazole is a wonderful medicine for inflamed bowels, diarrhea, and giardia - the latter takes at least 8 days....
So... can you tell us what these pills are, and how many days did he prescribed? 5? 8?
Go get some Pill pockets - it will make a world of difference.
As far as the food, what did he give her?

Did you ask the vet to test her for Giardia and TF?

Originally Posted by otto

Or it could be food allergy related. Of course you don't want to give up on her. We'll help you.

Click to expand...

This is why I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this site! Such caring people!

So sorry you are having to go through this with Piper. The only other question I have is has she also been tested for TF?

Originally Posted by otto

Can you refresh my memory? Has Piper been tested for giardia and coccida? These, I think, require special tests, to determine the presence of them. Metronidazole (flagyl) is usually prescribed for these, I understand it is very difficult to get rid of, but possible. Takes aggressive treatment. The medicine is probably very bitter, since she is foaming.

Get some plain gelatin capsules, and put the pills in them before giving the pill. She won't taste a thing, and it will slip right down.

Or it could be food allergy related. Of course you don't want to give up on her. We'll help you.
.

Click to expand...

I have no clue what she has been tested for right now. I want to get her tested for TF. (Someone on here mentioned this to me and it she has all of the symptoms for it to a T) I told this vet about it and he said that he would look for it under the slide but from what I have read thats not a very effective way to test for it. Should I start calling around seeing how much these specific tests would cost? Deep down in my gut I really thing she just has a parasite or bacteria or something that is causing this and its not something that she needs to see and internalist for. I also want to try some limited ingredient diets to see if she is allergic to something in her food.

I was thinking this was caused by her anxiety but she seems to be very active and isn't hiding at all anymore (unless people come over, thats a whole different story) and has been eating great so I really don't think it is an anxiety issue. Then I thought it was because she was scared to poo around my husband in the litterbox but that doesn't seem to be it either. She is really just having cases of explosive diarrhea and can't always get to the litterbox is what it seems like to me.

Sorry if I'm just blabbing, I'm just so upset and lost with this.

Oh, where to you get gelatin capsules? I'm willing to try anything at this point.

she blames the litter box for her discomfort, is why she avoids the litter box, poor little thing.

I'm inclined to agree with you about the parasite and if the flagyl helps...well, we'll have a good idea.

You can get gel caps on line, I just tried to PM you but your PM box is full. If you delete a couple things I will send my PM

Originally Posted by Carolina

Ok... calm down... Are these pills Metronidazole?
Because if they are, they taste HORRIBLE, and yes, your cat will foam, spit, and do anything to not taken them.
What I do, is I wrap them in Greenies Pill Pockets - you can get them at petco, petsmart, etc. Ant then I pill the kitty...
I do NOT follow the pill pocket instruction, meaning: I do not feed the pill like a treat - I wrap the pill in it and the I put the pill as far back on the kitty's throat as I can, and close her mouth. The pill pocket will coat the flavor, so no foaming, no spitting... It will do the same as gelatin capsules, it is just easier to find. This is what it is: http://www.greenies.com/en_US/Produc...llPockets.aspx
Metronidazole is a wonderful medicine for inflamed bowels, diarrhea, and giardia - the latter takes at least 8 days....
So... can you tell us what these pills are, and how many days did he prescribed? 5? 8?
Go get some Pill pockets - it will make a world of difference.
As far as the food, what did he give her?

Did you ask the vet to test her for Giardia and TF?

Click to expand...

These pills are blue ovals that says PRIMOR 120 on one side and are scored on the other side. He gave her 5 and I'm supposed to give her 1/2 each day. From what I have looked up it just seems like this is a general antibiotic or something *sigh*. I just went to the vet because of a referral from a friend but I think I made another bad vet choice again.

Originally Posted by stephanietx

This is why I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this site! Such caring people!

So sorry you are having to go through this with Piper. The only other question I have is has she also been tested for TF?

Click to expand...

I want her tested for TF, I just don't know how to get it done.

Originally Posted by Fitzy819

These pills are blue ovals that say PRIMOR 120 on one side and are scored on the other side. He gave her 5 and I'm supposed to give her 1/2 each day. From what I have looked up it just seems like this is a general antibiotic or something *sigh*. I just went to the vet because of a referral from a friend but I think I made another bad vet choice again.



I want her tested for TF, I just don't know how to get it done.

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What the heck? WHY would he give you these???

Primor is for the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections (wounds
and abscesses) in dogs caused by strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli and
urinary tract infections caused by Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus spp., and Proteus mirabilis
susceptible to sulfadimethoxine/ormetoprim.

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Why hasn't anybody put this cat on Metronidazole yet?
Can you call this vet and ask this question?
Are they open now? Can you ask him, why would him prescribe this instead of Metronidazole? Just ask him this question, and let's see what he says... This is weird.

The test for TF needs to be sent out.... Or there is a kit that your vet canbuy online, and test it too, but it is specific... He can not test it normally under the microscope.

Originally Posted by otto

she blames the litter box for her discomfort, is why she avoids the litter box, poor little thing.

I'm inclined to agree with you about the parasite and if the flagyl helps...well, we'll have a good idea.

You can get gel caps on line, I just tried to PM you but your PM box is full. If you delete a couple things I will send my PM

Click to expand...

Ok, I deleted some messages.

To anyone, how do I find a good knowledgeable vet without having to spend $$$ tons of money trying vet after vet? What kind of questions can I ask over the phone to help me make a better choice?

What city are you, for starters?

Originally Posted by Carolina

What the heck? WHY would he give you these???


Why hasn't anybody put this cat on Metronidazole yet?
Can you call this vet and ask this question?
Are they open now? Can you ask him, why would him prescribe this instead of Metronidazole? Just ask him this question, and let's see what he says... This is weird.

The test for TF needs to be sent out.... Or there is a kit that your vet canbuy online, and test it too, but it is specific... He can not test it normally under the microscope.

Click to expand...

They closed an hour ago, I'm supposed to call back Monday if she wont eat the food they gave her or if I still cant get her to take a pill. She has had that and Clavamox from the other vet, which obviously didn't help. Apparently I'm just a bad vet magnet.

I looked up tons of stuff about TF after you told me about it last night and I realllllly think that might be what it is, she has every single one of the symptoms. I think I will just call vets and ask them if they they will test for that or not and just find a vet that will test for it.

We are in the Hampton Roads area in VA, we have tried Poquoson Vetinary Hospital and Hampton Vetinary here.

Giardia and coccidia often do not show up in any tests. It is quite common for cats and kittens in shelters to have this. I would suggest finding a feline specialist in your area and get fresh eyes on this kitten. Check your PM- I have gone through this type of situation more times than I care to remember.

Here is a place for your vet to order the kits to test for TF, so he doesn't need to send it out - 5 tests, $30...
Ask him to order these, and to test her for it.

For the food, what did he give her?

As far as metronidazole - are you saying she HAS been on it?

Clavamox is NOT a good one for diarrhea, as on of its side effect IS diarrhea...

I too was surprised that Piper has not been put on Metronidazole.

Can someone please define TF?

Now I really have to get going! Want to stay here all day!

Nope, she has not been on the metronidazole before since I have had her. I'm still trying to get ahold of the shelter to get some kind of medical history from them. She was on the clavamox for a few days from the other vet who said that she was gainging weight and nothing seemed to be wrong.

Originally Posted by otto

I too was surprised that Piper has not been put on Metronidazole.

Can someone please define TF?

Now I really have to get going! Want to stay here all day!

Click to expand...

Here is some of what I found out about TF http://www.tffelines.com/whatistf.html It realllllyyy seems to describe what she has.

Originally Posted by otto

I too was surprised that Piper has not been put on Metronidazole.

Can someone please define TF?

Now I really have to get going! Want to stay here all day!

Click to expand...

Tritrichomonas foetus in felines is a protozoan infection of the large intestine which can lead to prolonged and intractable diarrhea. Recent studies have shown that T. foetus infects approximately 31% of cats. Frequently cats are co-infected with Giardia or, because T. foetus and Giardia look similar, they are misdiagnosed with Giardia. When a cat that has been diagnosed with Giardia fails to respond to treatment, it is recommended that the cat be tested for T. foetus. The stool of an infected cat is often diarrhea of semi-formed to viscous consistency which may contain fresh blood or mucus and be malodorous. While the mode of infection is still unknown, it is suspected that the organism is passed through contact with an infected feline's feces to a non-infected feline. Both purebred and non-purebred cats have been found to be infected.

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.......................

Originally Posted by Fitzy819

Nope, she has not been on the metronidazole before since I have had her. I'm still trying to get ahold of the shelter to get some kind of medical history from them. She was on the clavamox for a few days from the other vet who said that she was gainging weight and nothing seemed to be wrong.

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Metronidazole is what she needs to be on.... ai ai ai...
Any good vet, when a cat gets there with a diarrhea of unknown causes, inflamed bowels, or Giradia, will put the cat on Metronidazole. It is an antibiotic that has antinflamatory properties on the gut, and will stop diarrhea. That is the most widely used antibiotics for diarrhea, colitis, giardia, and even TF.
It is beyond me why your vets have not put her on it. One after the other.

Is any of your previous vets open? Can you call any of them and ask for a prescription? I am serious, I would just call them at this point and ask for a 8 day prescription of metronidazole.