Update on Bear's Giardia...back to the vet today

I took a stool sample back to the vet today since we have been on Metro 1 time a day for a week with no change at all...actually it is WORSE than it was before starting all that.

Guess what? They giardia is STILL there! Still VISIBLE which apparently means it is a terrible case.

We are now on panacur for 5 days. Of course, who knows if my vet is dosing him high, low, or somewhere in between because IMO, he was not giving him enough of the Metro (60mg/1x per day). The panacur is in a syringe and htey syringe has about 1.25ml drawn up. The label says "Panacur 5mg" - so I have no idea how much that is. I just pray it works!

Oh wow, that's not good news! I read your other threads about the giardia, but didn't post for whatever reason. I get distracted easily..

Genever had it I think from the shelter since we adopted her and we didn't know until about 5 months later when I took her to a new vet who tested for it. The first vet who did her initial wellness exam after we got her didn't. I didn't even know what giardia was, so I just thought she had stinky runny poop, that that was the way it was. Not so! So we had 10 days of 250mg metro (i just had to look it up out of curiosity). It was a nightmare to give those bitter pills, even pill pockets wouldn't work. Anyway, it cleared it up, thank goodness. No more clearing out the room after she's in the box!

I hope this new med works for your Bear, bad poos are no fun for anyone.

I'm sorry to read that Bear is still sick. I hope the Panacur works and he feels better soon!

I'm really sorry this isn't clearing up. I sure hope the Panacur helps and this gets taken care of quickly.

Wow I am SO sorry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! More and extra vibes for this to clear up quickly!

How is he doing today?

Originally Posted by My4LLMA

How is he doing today?

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Still no change. He has had two doses of the panacur now. I am not terribly hopeful. My vet seems to be under-dosing him all the time. I have no idea if he under-dosed the panacur, but I know he under-dosed the metro by about half!

Originally Posted by BlueRexBear

Still no change. He has had two doses of the panacur now.

I am not terribly hopeful. My vet seems to be under-dosing him all the time. I have no idea if he under-dosed the panacur, but I know he under-dosed the metro by about half!

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If that's how you feel about your vet, IMHO, time for a second opinion... Yes, the Metro dose was weird...

Originally Posted by BlueRexBear

Still no change. He has had two doses of the panacur now.

I am not terribly hopeful. My vet seems to be under-dosing him all the time. I have no idea if he under-dosed the panacur, but I know he under-dosed the metro by about half!

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I'm sorry there's still no change. Since your vet is underdosing him, you should take Bear to another vet, just to be sure. If your instinct is telling you not to trust this vet, then you should really go to another 1. Sometimes it's best to have a second opinion.

I am now using Panacur AND Metro and dosing the cat twice a day with Metro...and it STILL isn't clearing up.

I got a second opinion. That vet gave me the same meds (higher doses) and some Kaopectate (sp?). Still...not helping.

Are there other vets at the clinic? If so call and ask for another vet, have that vet go over your record and see what s/he says.



I'd get a second opinion if Pancur doesnt work.

(ooops we posted at the same time)

How long have you been trying the new meds? It does take a while to kick in.

He has seen 3 vets at that clinic and one vet closer to home.

He has taken Metro a total of 13 days now, Albon for 10 days, and Panacur for the last 4 days. *sigh*

Originally Posted by BlueRexBear

He has seen 3 vets at that clinic and one vet closer to home.

He has taken Metro a total of 13 days now, Albon for 10 days, and Panacur for the last 4 days. *sigh*

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Hi there, read page 212 http://books.google.com/books?id=2rR...20cats&f=false

I'm so sorry things aren't getting better. I've tried to read through all of this but how often are you changing the litter box? Is it possible that your cat is reinfecting from dirty litter?

I know nothing about giardia but I begin to wonder about false positives so I did a search. It does talk about retesting too soon and creating false positives. Below is the website.

http://secure.aahanet.org/eweb/image...INFECTIONS.pdf


Good luck...hopefully things will turn around soon

Originally Posted by Carolina

Hi there, read page 212 http://books.google.com/books?id=2rR...20cats&f=false

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Thank you. My "country vet" today called and checked on Bear. He said that he did a culture for more serious things (pancreatic in nature, I think) and everything was negative. Then, he explained IBD to me and told me that he thought Bear was showing signs of this secondary to Giardia. He did discuss corticosteroid shots with me and also a break from the medications and a healing of the bowel before further treatment for Giardia.

Originally Posted by MNJULZ

I'm so sorry things aren't getting better. I've tried to read through all of this but how often are you changing the litter box? Is it possible that your cat is reinfecting from dirty litter?

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Unfortunately, no (I say unfortunately, because that would be an easy fix!). I could actually take stock in the Tidy Cat company with as much litter as I am going through every day. I change the box completely 1-2 times a day and scoop after each BM - at least once every few hours during the day.

Originally Posted by BlueRexBear

Thank you. My "country vet" today called and checked on Bear. He said that he did a culture for more serious things (pancreatic in nature, I think) and everything was negative. Then, he explained IBD to me and told me that he thought Bear was showing signs of this secondary to Giardia. He did discuss corticosteroid shots with me and also a break from the medications and a healing of the bowel before further treatment for Giardia.

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FYI, shots are not the best route for IBD, they are really the last option when it comes to steroid use... If you go into the steroid route, discuss with your vet Prednisone or Prednisolone, and not depo-medrol (the shots) - it is safer and more effective
Pred works well with Metro.