Cats, humans and diarrhea

Has anyone here caught "something" from their cats that gave them the runs? I am careful when I clean their pans and wash my hands a lot. I wear a mask but not gloves.

Been having "issues" since Sunday. Going to see the doc tomorrow.

I have heard discussions of whether we can get giardia from cats.

But experts say the average American gets food poisoning about 3-5 times per year, minimum. And the most likely place to get it is in your own kitchen.

Hope you get to feeling better. That can sure be miserable.

Or eating out.. handling anything in places where items have been handled by other people a lot - people are nasty!

I honestly believe I picked up C. diff from where I was working... someone actually handed me a dvd case with feces smeared on the back of it. I didn't know until I grabbed it. I don't know if that feces was animal or human - though I think it looked like animal, maybe dog.
The bad thing about clostridium bacteria and others like it is that alcohol hand sanitizers and even soap and water doesn't do much. Only the harshest cleaners do. So if an area gets contaminated people risk getting it. (still wash your hands as soap makes your hand slippery and helps stuff wash away so lesser amounts are there)
So you can pick them up anywhere there's been fecal contamination on something that gets in your mouth. Then you're a carrier and if your gut flora is disrupted you can get an overgrowth.

Have you been taking antibiotics or any medications lately? How do you feel? Fever? Chills? Like death warmed over? If you're feeling really bad already, don't wait - go get fluids in the ER and make them take a stool sample before treating you with anything (I know, it's icky).

Always remember that such infections can go both ways. You can actually infect your cats with these. Do not let cats ever drink out of the toilet, wash toilets and sinks down with bleach or lysol to deactivate endospores and protozoa. Especially be doing this at home if you live with someone older or who has compromised health already!

Oh, and in the meantime - drink some gatorade if you can.

Thanks, Strange_wings. I am being very careful. I did notice a little bit of diarrhea on the floor for a couple of days from one of the cats - don't know which. Cleaned it up and washed my hands. Maybe that's where it came from ... or they got it from me.

I keep the toilet lids down at all times as I have water babies...

Funny thing about symptoms - didn't have anything flu-like.. .was watching for it.. No vomiting, fever, swollen glands, chills,.... lots of burping and other gas. No antibiotics. I know about THAT!

I have a finicky gut - always have. Been more touchy since my hysterectomy and I am definitely lactose intolerant. This may be bacterial... a stool culture will tell. But I suspect something set off IBD or IBS in me. It's happened before. (She says as she sits here eating Cream of Rice cereal. Blech.)

My brother is a doctor -- his first thought was that the cats were the source. Possible. He also doesn't like the little beasties.

Originally Posted by AddieBee

My brother is a doctor -- his first thought was that the cats were the source. Possible. He also doesn't like the little beasties.

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Well on him. You could have picked something up shopping at a local store for all he knows.

When I had C. diff I did have other symptoms from it, but it took about a week for the toxins to build up to a level that they caused it. There were no swollen glands. I don't know if other gastro bacteria would cause that or not.
Antibiotics aren't the only thing that can work against a person. Anything that slows down the digestive tract can cause problems (anything that would cause constipation), as can acid reducers/PPIs.

If this is an infection instead of possible protozoa, I hope it can get diagnosed and treated quickly. Some of those bacterias release some pretty nasty toxins that can really mess up your liver and colon (in which some bacteria actually cause colitis). Whatever it is, don't be surprised if you end up on metronidazole.

When I got that infection, btw, I still had my gallbladder but had the typical bile diarrhea and IBS type issues from that already compromising my GI... plus a dentist put me on three rounds of antibiotics (I certainly didn't need the last round). I was also taking prilosec at the time plus the occasional imodium so I would be able to eat and drink at work. I pretty much set myself up as the perfect host.

Is supposed to help "firm" things up. Not the pie filling, just canned pumpkin. Can be used with dogs too, so I've heard.
Marty

Originally Posted by strange_wings

Well

on him. You could have picked something up shopping at a local store for all he knows.

When I had C. diff I did have other symptoms from it, but it took about a week for the toxins to build up to a level that they caused it. There were no swollen glands. I don't know if other gastro bacteria would cause that or not.
Antibiotics aren't the only thing that can work against a person. Anything that slows down the digestive tract can cause problems (anything that would cause constipation), as can acid reducers/PPIs.

If this is an infection instead of possible protozoa, I hope it can get diagnosed and treated quickly. Some of those bacterias release some pretty nasty toxins that can really mess up your liver and colon (in which some bacteria actually cause colitis). Whatever it is, don't be surprised if you end up on metronidazole.

When I got that infection, btw, I still had my gallbladder but had the typical bile diarrhea and IBS type issues from that already compromising my GI... plus a dentist put me on three rounds of antibiotics (I certainly didn't need the last round).

I was also taking prilosec at the time plus the occasional imodium so I would be able to eat and drink at work. I pretty much set myself up as the perfect host.

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He is testing me for c diff... got the "poop kit"... now I gotta do the deed. Also for parasites, and checking blood and urine, JIK. I have a balky gut to begin with so fingers crossed that this something that can be knocked out. He did say that Flagyl is likely in my future! I have had it before, so I am prepared for the bitter taste.

I also noticed that loading up on pro-bios helped a tiny bit... so I am doing that. Plus Gatorade, bananas and he suggested Pepto.. but not until I provide a sample.

If you and the cats consistently get infected together it is probably hard water and calcium, magnesium build ups. Especially if your piping is really old and water heater is as ancient as mine !!

Originally Posted by AddieBee

He is testing me for c diff... got the "poop kit"... now I gotta do the deed. Also for parasites, and checking blood and urine, JIK. I have a balky gut to begin with so fingers crossed that this something that can be knocked out. He did say that Flagyl is likely in my future! I have had it before, so I am prepared for the bitter taste.

I also noticed that loading up on pro-bios helped a tiny bit... so I am doing that. Plus Gatorade, bananas and he suggested Pepto.. but not until I provide a sample.

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They didn't think to test me until I had been in the hospital for close to 30 hours.

I had to take vancomycin - a stronger drug, though it tends to cause less side effect for people. I had tried to take metronidazole for a different infection, before, and the side effects where terrible - ~ 6 hours after the first dose I had that partial numbness and tingling in my forearms and hands, I ignored it and tried to keep taking it. From the second dose on I had an intense headache that on day three turned into a bad migraine (sans aura, which isn't normal for me). I stopped taking it and all symptoms stopped - it's now in my records that I cannot have it at all. Scary drug.

I hope your treatment goes smoothly. That probiotics really help could suggest this is bacterial - but you won't know till ~24-36 hours after they start culturing the stool sample.

I saw vancomycin in my research. I will bring it up with my doc. Actually - now that I think about it - the Flagyl given to me was done via IV for a post-surgical abdominal infection.

Originally Posted by AddieBee

I saw vancomycin in my research. I will bring it up with my doc. Actually - now that I think about it - the Flagyl given to me was done via IV for a post-surgical abdominal infection.

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Well, they don't like to use vanco if they don't have to. It's the stronger of the two drugs and the one that is usually reserved for if the metro doesn't work. Plus there are a few strains of these bacteria that are now coming out as even vanco resistant.

Did they do any blood work to check your liver, btw? The c diff toxins + my existing biliary issues was seriously messing with my liver and mostly why they kept me in the hospital for 4 days.
I sort of wonder why no one really checks cats liver enzymes when they have bad diarrhea for several days..

Don't know for sure if they did liver, but he did do a full metabolic since I am mildly diabetic AND I take statins. So I am going to assume that he did. Bloods and urine came back normal.

I also understand vanco needs to be given intravenously...

I know they are going to do a stool culture, but would they do a cytology as well - SOP for a poop check??? You seem to know these things. I cannot imagine that I don't have a lot of inflammatory cells in there.

Originally Posted by AddieBee

I also understand vanco needs to be given intravenously...

I know they are going to do a stool culture, but would they do a cytology as well - SOP for a poop check??? You seem to know these things. I cannot imagine that I don't have a lot of inflammatory cells in there.

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It depends on your symptoms and what the doc orders. I had very distinctive symptoms, that once recognized, pointed directly to what I had - I don't mean to be gross here, but with clostridium bacteria there's stool color changes and smells that are far beyond normal. I did have a lot of WBCs in the sample they checked, though they didn't look for inflammation it's a given that there was inflammation in my colon. They actually found the bacteria toxins pretty quickly, so if this is bacterial for you - you should hopefully know very soon.
If you start feeling pretty rough, have them double check your liver enzymes - it's a separate panel of it's own depending on your lab. Here AST and ALT has to be ordered.

I never had vanco given through the IV. The first two days was a liquid given orally because it needed to go to my GI tract and a suspension works better for that, after that I took capsules. If they give you cholestyramine powder, the stuff is easier to get down if mixed with juice or gatorade.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

It depends on your symptoms and what the doc orders. I had very distinctive symptoms, that once recognized, pointed directly to what I had - I don't mean to be gross here, but with clostridium bacteria there's stool color changes and smells that are far beyond normal. I did have a lot of WBCs in the sample they checked, though they didn't look for inflammation it's a given that there was inflammation in my colon. They actually found the bacteria toxins pretty quickly, so if this is bacterial for you - you should hopefully know very soon.
If you start feeling pretty rough, have them double check your liver enzymes - it's a separate panel of it's own depending on your lab. Here AST and ALT has to be ordered.

I never had vanco given through the IV. The first two days was a liquid given orally because it needed to go to my GI tract and a suspension works better for that, after that I took capsules. If they give you cholestyramine powder, the stuff is easier to get down if mixed with juice or gatorade.

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I was wondering about cytology b/c he wanted to check for parasites, too. Poo is not out of the ordinary bounds of diarrhea( color and smell)... so we shall see.

Lovely convo we're having here. Perhaps we should move it to PMs.