Coccidia

I picked up an adorable 1 year old red tabby from the local shelter 2 days ago as a companion animal for myself and my 8 year old torti. He has had his shoots and flea medication and show no signs of respiratory infection. He had worms initally but was given Drocit and my resident cat was given revolution that protects against worms. I took a fecal sample to the vet today to see if he was passing any worms with the hopes of letting him out if the bathroom full time. ( I feel really bad confining him, he howls sometimes and i've lost much sleep because of this too. Plus i live in an apartment with very thin walls) Upon examination the vet discovered no worms but a single small organism that she considered to be Coccidia . She provided 10 days worth of anti-biotics. He has no Diarrhea and his stools are fully formed when he goes so i don't think he has it very bad and almost question the need for medication. I cant seem to find a vet that is open this afternoon but i am concerned about a few things and hoping someone here can help.

Since worms are transmitted by feces i cleaned his fuzzy bum and let him explore my apartment supervised and the two cats sniffed each other but had no other contact. Each cat had it's own food/water and litter pan to prevent worms from spreading. However I am worried that by allowing him to roam around the apartment i have put my 8 year old cat at risk for catching it. I also read that most adult cats are more or less immune to it and kitten are most at risk. Should i be overly worried about my adult cat getting this as well?

I also cleaned the bathroom and got him a tiny liter pan so i can change it daily. Should i be worried about it spreading outside the bathroom through clothing like socks after i have been in visiting him? Will he have to stay in the bathroom fulltime until it has been cleared up.

I really appreciate any help you can provide, i'm a bit freaked out about all of this and don't want to infect my resident cat. I love my new kitten to death but so far this adoption has been one stressful ordeal for me.

If you want to read about a stressful adoption, check out my posts on Giardia from the past month. LOL I can laugh now...but it sure wasn't funny at the time.

My cats were finally diagnosed with Coccidia on Thursday. All but my newest cat, Chloe, has it...but we are treating her as a precaution. My other cats are out in the house and all is fine. Albon is usually well tolerated and, if i were you, I would probably treat both cats at the same time as a precaution and let them both out to meet and greet. That is just me, though, and I have never been good at keeping a new cat in the bathroom for very long.

I would love to let them out together but i cant risk infecting both cats. I'm on a very limited income and i have read that many times it takes several doses of anti-biotics to get rid of it, between the meds and fecal exams it will cost 60$ each visit per cat. He is on Tmps not sure if that is Albon or not. I have read that coccidia will clear up on it's own unless it is severe, but others say it needs medication to clear up.

P.s on a side note your Chloe looks just like my cat whisers.

I do understand the limited budget. Well...I didn't, but now I do. LOL We have spent close to 2K in the last two months trying to treat my 2 cats and my other rescue kitten who ended up having to go back to the shelter. We are just now started to see formed stools. It has been a rough road.

I am not sure of the med your vet has given you. My precious new vet charges $6 for a fecal and the albon was around $34 for all 3 cats to be on it. My male cats are on a 21 day dose and my female cat is on just a 2 week dose as a precaution.

Best of luck to you and hope your new kitty is better soon!

Coccidia is unfortunately running rampant everywhere. Almost every cat (something like 80% of intakes) at the shelter here has it.

IMO, it MUST be treated. It is very important that after 10 days you re-test a fecal.....as in many cases it takes more than one round of Albon to treat it (I've seen it take 1+ month of Albon).

Our vet is not planning to treat Hobbes at this time since he has no symptoms. The fecal showed a grade 1, I think the vet called it. Since hobbes is on azithromycin for his URI, I think he did not want to add more to it at this point. He said that the way that Calvin, my older kitten can get it through ingesting it. So butt licking or sharing litterbox. None of which I think will happen soon.

If the cat has a healthy immune system and no symptoms, it seems to me they're already in the process of fighting the coccidia. In the U.S. there is no approved drug that actually kills the organism. The "treatments" only stop the protozoa from reproducing, giving the cat's natural immune defenses time to kick in and fight the bug.

http://www.peteducation.com/article....1+1318&aid=726

Fortunately, coccidiosis is treatable. Drugs such as sulfadimethoxine (AlbonÂ[emoji]174[/emoji]) and trimethoprim-sulfadiazine (TribrissenÂ[emoji]174[/emoji]) have been effective in the treatment and prevention of coccidia. Because these drugs do not kill the organisms, but rather inhibit their reproduction capabilities, elimination of coccidia from the intestine is not rapid. By stopping the ability of the protozoa to reproduce, time is allowed for the kitten's own immunity to develop and remove the organisms. Drug treatments of one to three weeks are usually required.

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I think he is on TribrissenÂ[emoji]174[/emoji], they just used an abbreviation on the pill bottle.
I am also thinking that he may already be on the road to recovery or is just a carrer, he was removed from a neglectful home with too many cats so that is likely were he picked it up. 2 days in the shelter would mean 4 days in total which is too early for infection to be from the shelter. He was in rough shape when they got him 4 days ago, flea bite dermatitis, bald spots and worms too. I agree that medication is a good idea just in case the stress from the move is causing a flare-up. Maybe it was just caught before it got too bad. I will be taking him in after 10 days of eating pill laced treats. Bless the person who invented treats with pill holes in them. I assume he has a healthy immune system, he was vaccinated against FIV when he came in but i'm uncertain if they tested him before vaccination. My older cat has not had shots in almost 4 years since she had a scary reaction to the last one. But i've read from reputable sources that one shot is capable of providing immunity for life and boosters are just wasteful.

I wont have to worry about them cleaning each other anytime soon, i have not allowed any physical contact and whiskers is still at the hissing and growling stage and likely will be for some time.

Is 33$ a bit much for a fecal exam? Should i be checking around a bit to see if somewhere else is cheaper?

Thanks for the advice everyone. My vet seemed eager to get back to work and the paperwork she provided on coccidia left me with even more questions.

No, $33 is about right for most vets. I live in a small town and this is a country vet who just doesn't charge much. If she has to send it out to a lab, it is only $25. My last vet charged $40 for a fecal.

Well, FIV and FeLV are interesting vaccination questions. FeLV is only effective about 70% of the time, and FIV depends entirely upon where in the country you are - there are different strains (and many vets, unless they pay attention to the current literature, don't know this). If you're in TX or LA, it works. There may be some other southern states. But up north, there is absolutely no point in getting the FIV vaccination.

FIV isn't passed casually anyway, so it's safe for FIV+ kitties and FIV- kitties to interact if proper introductions are made. It requires a deep tissue bite wound to be passed on. There are rare cases where it can be passed between cats if bleeding gums are involved. But the FIV virus only lives outside of the body for a few seconds and requires the deep tissue for "incubation." And even then, many cats if they have healthy immune systems, can fight off the infection.

Is 33$ a bit much for a fecal exam? Should i be checking around a bit to see if somewhere else is cheaper?

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It depends on where you are. I think it sounds a bit high though. I'm in the Chicago area where everything is expensive and by vet charges $22. I found one that charges $16. The vet that only charged $16 instead charged a lot for other things so at the end it evens out. If cost is a big issue for you it doesn't hurt to call around. You could also ask your vet for a paper prescription instead of buying the meds from them. Some won't do it but it doesn't hurt to ask. Filling an rx at an internet pharmacy can save you a lot of money. There are some great, reputable and cheap pharmacies out there (not 1800-pet meds which charges a fortune).

From what I understand about coccidia you can drastically minimize spreading it by practicing good hygiene and not allowing cats to share litter boxes or eat near the litterboxes. If it was me I would wait a few more days to make sure that nothing else comes up and then let the new kitty out while you are there to supervise and make sure they don't share litter boxes, etc. Since cats get coccidia by injesting contaminated feces it's important that their food or water is nowhere near the litter box. If you keep a close eye on the cats and keep up with the cleaning I would not think that the risk of spreading it is high.
Please keep in mind that most cleaners don't kill coccidia. You should use a solution with 10% ammonia to clean areas where the cats are. Also make sure that you scoop the litterbox often. Remove any poop as soon as you can.

Good luck

I can get the test done at a lab for 40$. I live on Ontario Canada so i guess these prices are about right.

So far i have been able to catch him using the litter pan and clean it before he manages to bury it. He eats like a little piggy and drinks a ton of water first thing in the morning. His stool was formed but had a but of sticky looking mucus and a bit of blood at the end.

He has a weeping sore on his back too (clear to light pink fluid, i have been apply vetericyn spray to it and his other dermatitis spots. I hope it starts to heal soon or it may mean a trip to the vet. Other than that he is very loveable and seems happy except for the being in the bathroom part. Sadly when i got to work he will have to stay in the bathroom since i have no-one to supervise him.

I'm going to call the shelter on monday and see if they test for FIV when cats come in. The internet is so ripe with misinformation, i had read that FIV could be transmitted by claw scratches too.

Most shelters do test for FIV and FeLV when the cats come in, and it's really a shame. First of all, there are a lot of false positives. Secondly, if a cat was just bitten, it can take up to two months for the viral load to develop to the point it is detectable, so if a cat was recently bitten, they may or may not be adopting out an infected cat without knowing it - and the family will find out years later. And yet kitty has been living as part of a cat family, and everyone else is fine - yet had they known, they wouldn't have adopted the cat to begin with.

Also, if a cat has been vaccinated for FeLV, it will then test positive for FeLV. So if a cat is rescued that has been spayed or neutered - it's pretty impossible to know if the cat was vaccinated or is infected. (That's not the case with FIV as it is not a live virus vaccination).

The shelter here does not test for FIV, but given his young age and being an neutered indoor cat they said it was unlikely he would have FIV. I found out that a guy who had 10 cats brought 3(including Kujo) cat to the shelter but provided very little information about them. They were spayed and neutered but no one knows where since most vets here wont do surgery if the animal has a flea infestation. I suffer from an anxiety disorder so i'm probably worrying too much about FIV at the moment. But I'm also looking out for my resident cats health. I would feel horrible if something happened to my little girl. That and living on a single minimum wage income leaves little room for vet bills.

The little guy is doing a bit better, he seem rather relaxed all curled up in my sink looking like an angel.

FIV isn't the scary one, FeLV is. But it's still best to keep any new introduction separated until you and your vet are confident all's clear.

for you, your babies, and your new little fella.

Originally Posted by LDG

Also, if a cat has been vaccinated for FeLV, it will then test positive for FeLV. So if a cat is rescued that has been spayed or neutered - it's pretty impossible to know if the cat was vaccinated or is infected. (That's not the case with FIV as it is not a live virus vaccination).

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Are you sure you have that the right way around? I have heard that the FIV vaccine causes a cat to test positive for FIV, but not the FeLV vaccine. Plus, I've had FeLV vaccinated cats test negative for FeLV. . .

Originally Posted by Willowy

Are you sure you have that the right way around? I have heard that the FIV vaccine causes a cat to test positive for FIV, but not the FeLV vaccine. Plus, I've had FeLV vaccinated cats test negative for FeLV. . .

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I think you're right.

OK - you ARE right. I just looked it up. Thank you for catching that!!!

Is Felv something i should get him tested for?
He seems healthy other than the coccidia, worms and dermatitis.
This whole adoption opened up a huge can of worms, i was under the impression that initial vaccinations protected against a lot more than they acutally do. He's had limited face time with my cat and no actually physical contact but now i'm almost scared to let him anywhere near my resident cat.

Yes, all cats should be tested for FeLV before introducing them to other cats. You can ask the shelter if they tested him for it. Many shelters do.

I doubt he was vaccinated against FIV. . .the vaccine isn't common. Probably it was the FeLV shot. Do you have his papers that tell what the shelter did?

I know the shelter didn't test him. He was flea treated, dewormed and given fel-o-vax PCT. I checked with 2 vets in the area and neither of them recommended the test on a cat unless there was a valid reason too do so. I explained he was a shelter cat but that did not change the opinions given. I was quoted 80$ for the test. Plus 70 for FIV.