Metronidazole - Side Effects?

so overall, i would say Mika is feeling a tiny bit better, but far from healthy...thanks for asking..

No news on Mika for a while, I'm assuming no news is good news?

she is feeling better, but still not 100%..i would say more like 70%...which is better than the 40-50% she WAS at...she is still not eating any wet or dry food,,,just Purebites treats...they are 100% freeze dried turkey, so that's something at least...keeping her on the cerenia (anti nausea) and the florentero...will talk to the vet tomorrow about what to do...

Definitely speak with the vet, she needs nourishment & to stay hydrated. I remember once when one of my cats wouldn't eat, they gave me some type of liquid nourishment for him. It was as broth that contained all the nutrients he needed. That was a long time ago & I don't remember what it was called. Surely there must be something available.

Nutri-Cal is a high-calorie supplement that can be licked right out of the tube or given by syringe. The downside is that it does not contain taurine. Excel makes a vitamin paste called "Kittyvites" which may be better, but its been awhile since I've had a look at the stuff.

zack shea , tylosin is a much better choice than metro (flagyl). The problem with the pain meds is that those can impact appetite. Have you asked about an appetite stimulant? Often controlling the nausea is important, and cerenia is usually very good at this. But I think that pain med is working against you...

I would consider that she's enjoying the plain meat treats. What about cooking for her? See if she'll eat plain cooked chicken or turkey. It's really quite easy to balance if she enjoys it - it's a very healthy diet for an IBD kitty.

I wrote an overview on IBD in another thread. The antibiotics and steroids often help. But they treat the symptoms, not the problem.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/278273/the-well-known-problem-of-ibd-or-lymphoma/90#post_3576295

Hope this helps. And I hope she feels better soon!

thanks..i'll look into that.  she is a really picky eater though..i tried frying up some ground turkey (cast iron skillet - no Teflon), but she wouldn't even touch it...same with baby food (neither the turkey and sweet potato nor chicken)...she has been eating purebites a lot (not an ideal food, but for a "treat" it is 100% turkey just freeze dried...her diarrhea is gone as of earlier tonight (with no tylosin or prednisolone).  for the last 3 days, the only medication i have given her is the Cerenia and the florentero paste.  that's SOME good news anyways...recently though (also last few days) her little "tics" have been more frequent.  usually after eating or drinking water...and she has been having these little "half sneezes"...not really a sneeze, i think it is another type of spasm or "tic"...it's strange.  I am asking the vet about that when i talk to her tomorrow...wish me luck!

I am so upset that I gave my 9 month old kitten Metronidazone! I went to the vet today because my cat has been having diarrhea for the last week. The vet recommended a stool sample which I gave them and  that she take Metronidazone 100mg twice a day for 7 days. The only side effect the vet mentioned was a bit of drooling and that it was safe and a normal reaction. Thank God I was only able to administer .1mL of the .8mL that I was supposed to give her. My cat had an immediate reaction to the small amount. She foamed at the mouth profusely, instantly starting vomiting, and acted crazy bouncing off the walls until she lay there on the floor lethargically. She is hopefully going to be okay but after looking up the this drug it is NOT FDA approved for animal use (which I wasn't told) and reading all the side effects I am angry that I was mislead by my vet that this was safe and effective for her upset stomach and diarrhea. I will never administer another drug to my animals without looking up the information first! I am also going to a new vet because I believe this drug would have killed my precious kitty if I kept giving it to her, especially after reading how many other people cat's have died from it. I hope this information is helpful to other cat owners and prevents this from happening again.

i hear ya...i am NOT a fan of this "medication".  my cat Mika had a similar reaction to it.  not as bad as it sounds your cat had though...seems like a lot of vets are quick to recommend these "medications".  i wonder, if like human doctors, the veterinarians are pressured into pushing these meds from the companies that make them...?  it really wouldn't surprise me.

update on Mika...i had the radiated iodine therapy done last month.  if you are unfamiliar, it is (from what i researched) the ONLY "cure" for hyperthyroidism in cats (and the same procedure is used on humans for hyperthyroid, too).  So a month (and $1811.00) later, i see very little difference.  her facial "tics" are not as bad, but she still gets really watery eyes after she eats (yes, I've tried "limited ingredient" food for her, but still has watery eyes).  Her diarrhea IS gone, but i honestly feel that is because i stopped giving her any more "medications".  She also has IBD, so who knows - i can only hope that at least SHE feels better after all she has been through.  i would say she SEEMS to feel a bit better...on a scale of 1-10 (where 10 is feeling great), she WAS anywhere from 3-5...now i would say she is at 5-6.  

...Oh yeah - a side note:  I found a vet in Spokane, WA (about a 6 hour drive from here in Vancouver) that offers the same Radiated Iodine Therapy treatment...for $800.  That's a full $1000 cheaper for some reason.  gotta love Canada...(sarcasm)

I should not have read this post. My cat just had his first dose of this medicine. He's on 1.8ml 2x a day until the bottle runs out. After he finishes this medicine he is to take 30 days of fortiflora. He is also on onsior.

Hi --Newbie here!

Not new to forums just" CatSite"..

I just asked about this drug on another forum because my kit was prescribed Metro 50mg 2x day.  She had exploratory surgery 2 weeks ago and her results from biopsies were Helicobacter Infection. Which is like an ulcer in a human. She has not gotten to the ulceration state so they have give her also an Erythromycin 2x day and Prilosec 1/4 tab daily

After I gave her a second dose this morning she went and hid under the bed. Now , when she does this I know something is wrong. So I looked up the side effects of Metro, and OMG! . I have stopped using it after the second dose and will try and get another , safer drug or will just stop Metro al together and just give her the one antibiotic. I mean I have read where some cats have died after taking this drug, and their owners attribute their feeble behavior, prior to them passing, directly to this drug.

I am reading the many posts here and am in the same boat with most of you in feeling this drug is a danger to my cat. Why Vets prescribe this is beyond me. I have spent $6,000 in the last 2 months trying to figure out what was causing my cat to vomit everything she ate. We had CBC, Ultra Sound, X-ray, Test for Pancreatitis, and finally the ultra sound found some wall thickening in her stomach--all of this resulting in surgery

Now I spent all of this money to find out what is wrong with my cat and they give me Metronidazole. She is back to feeling sick and if I did not look this drug up may have had serious health issues --even death. Truly the cure is worse than the illness it is supposed to treat. 

We continue the need to be our only health advocate for our kits. This so annoys me , especially when combined with the fees  Vets charge theses days.

We deserve better.

Sincerely,

CML

Hi girl,

Just wanted to see how your ktty handled he Metronidazole!

Please give us an update!

Thanks,

CML

My cat was given metronidazole for bowel problems and after a week of taking it stopped eating and drinking. Also was very lethargic. Took back to vet and afyer blood work, urine sample. Was told she had no fever. Waiting for blood work to come back. They also gave her fluids today. Hope taking her off the metronidazole will slowly bring her back to normal. Vet never she it couldn't be the metronidazole and failed to mention any possible side effects.

Vet said it couldn't be the metronidazole. Sorry miss type on previous post.

lacpittman said:

Vet said it couldn't be the metronidazole. Sorry miss type on previous post.

Click to expand...

First, I am neither a veterinary nor a medical professional.

Across 25 years of caring for my cats, several DVMs have told me many veterinary medications are re-purposed human pharmaceuticals.

I doubt that’s news to any cat owner.

With that as preamble:

Merck is written by professionals for professionals. You can probably find an answer here:

Cat Owners - Merck Veterinary Manual

My vet advised to me to give this medication metronidazole 2x a day for my kitty's life. She has thickening n inflammation of her bowel n multiple lymph nodes in bowel. She is on Prednisone 2x daily n b12 supplement. Her appetite is healthy but has lost weight . Just started her her metronidazole and she looks like she has lost weight n see diarrhea in box. Afraid to keep up this med.