Metronidazole - Side Effects?

Our vet put Casper on 5 mg of metronidazole for periodic vomiting which had gotten a bit worse this past week.  He also was having some other issues that they had to test for, which looks like may be arthritis.  We go back for x-rays this Saturday.

Anyway, he's been on the medication since Sunday and we've noticed a marked difference in his entire personality and energy level which very worrisome, and I think as of this evening we're going to stop the medication.  I'm curious what others have experienced with this medicine, because from what I've read thus far it seems to be well tolerated but in our case, not so much.

He has been incredibly lethargic, seems mentally confused and needy.  He's having trouble getting up onto our bed, the couch, etc.  I thought at first perhaps it was because of the possible arthritis, however, I really doubt a cat goes from one day being able to jump onto the bed and the next totally unable to. I would think it's a gradual thing, like how he's been slowly building up having trouble going up the stairs.

He's been doing odd things that he's never done before around the house all of a sudden, like pawing at pillows he sleeps on - but not in a kneading way.  It's very peculiar.  I know he probably is in some pain from whatever is bothering him but, it's some other kind of mental weirdness - like he's gauging things, mystified or not recognizing where he is or something (I know, I'm putting human emotions on him, but you all know what I mean lol).

Anyhoo - we highly suspect it's the medication.  It started as soon as we started giving it to him.  We noticed he's brighter eyed in the morning after sleeping it off all night, and pretty much after he gets the pill in the morning, he starts to decline.  It can't be a coincidence.

I spoke to the vet today mentioning all of this and not once did he say it could be the medication.  I don't understand why a vet wouldn't even tell you possible side effects of what the are prescribing.  Again, one more thing for me to remember for the next time I'm being told to give something to my pet.

Anyway, has anyone had their kitty experience anything similar?  I would like to know.  We've decided not to continue with it.  Since he threw up while taking it already anyway, it doesn't seem to be working.  He's on a bland diet this week, so we're going to give him several small meals instead of his two.  Hopefully that will prevent him from gobbling and eating too much at one time which is why he usually brings up his meals..

Side effects of metronidazole

http://www.vetinfo.com/side-effects-metronidazole.html

From your observations I can't help wondering if Casper might be extraordinarily sensitive to this medication.

My Bernie also had side effects (lethargy and practically complete loss of appetite) so our vet agreed to stopping it and going to a different treatment. (Bernie had IBD)

I honestly don't understand why they gave it for vomiting. That medication has no affect on vomiting whatsoever, it's for severe diarrhea. Medications for vomiting would be Cerenia for nausea or Reglan for motility to stop the vomiting. Matter of fact as Violet said, it can sometimes cause vomiting which has happened to my sister's cat. 

Thanks to you both.

Once again, not being familiar with medications for animals is a real issue.  I think next time I'm being told that they should take something I should just look it up online while in the office to double check. They surely didn't tell me it was an antibiotic.  

Since his bloodwork came back ok, there seems no reason for him to take it anyway if that is the case.  He hasn't had one since last night at around 5pm.  This morning, he seems MUCH better.  His activity level was more normal.  I gave him breakfast, he has kept it down so far.  He went to play with a couple of his catnip toys, albeit slowly since he probably is in pain/discomfort from the possible arthritis.  But, at least he was doing his "patrol" for instance, there are certain areas of the house he seems to check just after he eats breakfast that he wasn't doing the last few days.  He seems more reactive to my voice and, when he was waiting for breakfast was rubbing up around me which hasn't been happening.

Right now he's got his head on his stuffed catnip banana like it's a pillow.  It's very cute!

Hoping that we can put this behind us.  I think I really need to find a better vet...again *sighs*

Agreed that it is a weird, unhelpful choice for vomiting. Your kitty may have been
very sensitive to the med. Tho 5mg is practically nothing-my Cat was on 200mg per day!
That dose was ridiculous, because it caused her liver enzymes to skyrocket. They came down after stopping the meds.

Not only that but with my Alex she already had an inflamed liver to begin with and when they gave her metronidazole it caused her to have a seizure and develop hepatic lipidosis. She had to be hospitalized. 

Poor kitties! 

I'm still kind of new at dealing with them being ill.  I never had pets growing up, and Casper was only ill once since before this but never acted in this way so it was rather scary to witness such a bruiser of a cat suddenly become so helpless.

BTW Jen, love the photo of your cat in the sink

Hi there my kitten was ill with diarrhea and vomiting. She was severely dehydrated and possibly has parasites/worms.. I took her to the local vet, and she was prescribed metronidazole in extremely low amounts (0.1 g) twice a day w gastrointestinal food. Her tummy was bloated. Olivia is not herself whatsoever, very lethargic but is eating and drinking water.. I believed she vomited early hours of the am.. I am very worried.. She had these symptoms from Sunday and took her to vet Wednesday. She also received fluid therapy for dehydration. She is a bit over 2 months and is just a wee lil thing... Any advice to provide?? I been giving her lots of love and attention and even running to catch her vomit and rubbing her tummy very lightly.. But I have to go to work also.. Please share your suggestions. Thank you.

My cat has chronic digestive problems and has been given metronidazole   each time that he has been sick.  Other than it being hard to give because of the bitter taste he hasn't had any problems with it.  I would make sure he is tested for all possible parasites and it may take multiple tests.  She does need to eat even if it means syringe feeding small amounts multiple times a day.  I know you can only do so much because you have to go to work but do as much feeding as possible.

For the time being I would continue the testing for parasites.  The metronidazole   will also kill some of the bacteria that could be causing this.

Hi there, thank you very much for the tips...I did some research and there are mixed reviews w the metronidazole (more from the USA), I reside in Toronto, ON.. She extremely dislikes the medication so I am not sure what to think.... I am on my way home so I am hope the med is working.. She is also on a deworming medication too.

long time after the original post i see, but i am dealing with this now...my cat Mika also has been prescribed metronidiazole on a few occasions. she has IBD and was recently (3 days ago) diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. on that same visit, was given flagyl to give to her .25 ml every 12 hours. after 2 doses, she stopped eating, had severe diarrhea, became listless and lethargic... took her to emergency and after a three hour wait and only seen by a "4th year student" we left. now trying to contact the vet that we saw 3 days ago (have been trying to talk to her for the last 22 hours now and keep getting the "she will call you, she is with a patient" speech...oh yeah i forgot to mention that Mika has been developing facial "tics" for the past couple of years...dating back to when she was first given this drug...

Zack Shea said:

 
long time after the original post i see, but i am dealing with this now...my cat Mika also has been prescribed metronidiazole on a few occasions. she has IBD and was recently (3 days ago) diagnosed with hyperthyroidism. on that same visit, was given flagyl to give to her .25 ml every 12 hours. after 2 doses, she stopped eating, had severe diarrhea, became listless and lethargic... took her to emergency and after a three hour wait and only seen by a "4th year student" we left. now trying to contact the vet that we saw 3 days ago (have been trying to talk to her for the last 22 hours now and keep getting the "she will call you, she is with a patient" speech...oh yeah i forgot to mention that Mika has been developing facial "tics" for the past couple of years...dating back to when she was first given this drug...

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Flagyl can cause nausea which can make them feel punky and stop eating. I try to always give it with food.

Mika is not just exhibiting signs of nausea, but VERY severe diarrhea (two days ago, no diarrhea), stopped eating, only drinking 3x (a few drops of water each time - she drinks from a hamster water bottle that i hold for her - the thyroid problem makes this a more desirable drinking position for her i assume), and other than the stress of bringing her the emergency last night, has been listless (almost non-responsive) or sleeping uncomfortably for the last 28 hours...EVERY warning sign that she is in serious distress.  Do i crate her up and cause more stress for an end result like last night?  or do i go to the vet that is avoiding my calls and demand some accountability?  i would hardly expect this vet (our 3rd vet in three years) to be trustworthy to "correct" the situation...

Yes metronidazole is rough on cats. It's a great medicine - the only thing that stopped my kitten's diarrhea and it did it after only one dose - but it took him down - he could not tolerate it. Luckily my vet had warned me it might happen and told me to call him immediately if it did. This drug is used in humans as well and by personal experience with it I know it'll make you feel like crap. Good luck with your kitty. I know how frustrating this issue can be.

I had a cat, Simba, that had a lot of problems keeping his food down. It was an issue nearly his entire life. Diagnosed & treated for diabetes, that seemed to help for a while. When it came back, the vet diagnosed & treated him for hyperthyroid, that worked too, until thyroid level was off again. Adjusting the dosage on his medication helped.

As he aged the vomiting returned, then he tested his blood pressure, it was really high. The vomiting stopped once his blood pressure was brought back to the normal range.

He was never placed on metronidazole, so I'm not sure about adverse reactions. I have used it numorous times in large breed dogs, but only for a day or two, never long term.

I sure hope Mika starts feeling better soon. Do you have any vets in the area that make house calls?

not that i know of, but there is an emergency clinic (other than the one we went to the other night) that is close by...after speaking with the vet (finally) today, she convinced me to get another ultrasound done to make sure there was no carcinoma or other issues it could be...3 hours and $400 later, i am told that it is just a flare up of her IBD.  so here we are at home again with her still listless and now not eating OR drinking water.  I am watching her closely and if no change/gets worse by tomorrow a.m., i guess it's back to the emergency vet clinic...

*sigh

thanks for the concerns, Mika and i appreciate it..

How is Mila thus morning, any improvement?

They just put my kitten on this for diarrhea and said that it can help with parasites. She started it last night and again this morning and she's seemed fine to me. Maybe your cat is sensitive to it? I hope your kitty gets better!!

We have used metronidazole often and usually it does work well and quickly. We have never had it prescribed for vomiting, however. Our foster kittens are currently on metronidazole and fenbendazole and other than complaining about the taste, there have been no problems. The veterinarian did warn us many years ago though that if it is overdosed it can cause neurological damage, which is why the very tiny ones are treated with other things instead.

i went back to the vet yesterday and switched the flagyl (metrodiazonole) for tylosin (antibiotic for diarrhea) and prednisolone for the inflammation in her intestine (which the ultrasound showed to be less inflamed from the ultrasound a few months ago).  The vet also gave me florentero (probiotic to be given a few hours before/after the ANTIbiotic) and buprenorphine for pain.  all of these in addition to the Cerenia (for nausea)....i managed to get the Cerenia and the tylosin in her last night (both pills i hid in treats - "mighty lion") and the florentero paste she loves.  that was easy.  i gave her half of the prescribed .36 ml of buprenorphine (.15 ml) which is liquid and only needs to be applied to her gums.  she has been drinking water (whew!), but still not eating other than the 10 treats or so i gave her last night.  she is still sleeping a lot, but seems a bit better.  i am hesitant to keep giving her all of these damn pills because each comes with side effects.  if she hasn't eaten anything but a few treats in 2 days, i feel that i will wait another 12 hours before giving her the prednisolone, because a side effect is diarrhea...