Tritrich treated cat now showing odd symptoms 5 months after

I'm so baffled by this guy and what he is going through that it hurts my heart. There are so many variables, it's hard to know where to begin. I'm just hoping some of you fantastic people here have some ideas that would help me get Yukio striaghtened out. I'm going to try not to write a book here so here goes...

Yukio came to me from a VERY reputable breeder in late May, of this year, when he was almost 10 months old. He was positve for Tritrichomonas and treated for it. She waited until she re-tested him and he came back negative before she sent him to me. Everything was fine for the first month or so. Since then he has been having spells with the runs, odd twitching and some slight weakness in his hind-quarters. I can't seem to get him to gain weight.

I was giving him canned and dry kitten food until the first episode of runny stools. I cut out the canned and it seemed to work. I've made some dietary changes in the last month and a half, trying to get all my cats on a healthier diet. More quality canned and less dry. I am now mixing Purina Indoor with Wellness Core dry. My current vet likes Purina and thinks that a totally grain-free diet is not optimal for some cats.

Once I got to 50/50 on the dry, I started bringing in some of the 'better' canned foods. Three times now Yukio's squirts have come back.

The hind leg twitching doesn't sound so bad except that he isn't asleep!!!!! I have also seen him have difficulty making small leaps from place to place or occassionaly missing the landing altogether.

The other switch I made was to Frontline Plus. Should I be more concerned with the diarrhea or the 'twitching'???? Are they related? Has the treatment for Tritrich had a neurological effect on him that makes the flea treatment more harmful to him? Diet??? Could this be a relapse of the Tritrich???

He is going to the Vet this Saturday. I just don't know what to do to make him comfortable and stop the runny poo in the mean time. His poor bum is so raw. What can I do about THAT???

He's had the runs since his last FL treatment almost a week ago. I am feeding him canned chicken several times a day and a teaspoon of crushed sardines once a day (both in water, not oil) and keeping a bowl of the Wellness dry out for him. Any ideas?????

I'm so sorry.

But... does he go outside? (I'm wondering why he's treated with Frontline).

I'd use chicken baby food (Beechnut, if you can find it over Gerber's) rather than canned chicken. I'd skip the sardines for now, just because fish can be a problem for some cats.

In fact, I'd fast him for 24 hours (pull the kibble). I'd then put him on chicken baby food until the vet visit. Or boiled chicken - nothing added - feed him with the chicken broth. I would go to a health food store and ask for their best human L. acidophilus supplement, and I'd give him 5 billion CFU am and PM (total 10 billion CFU daily). He could probably benefit from some S. Boulardii probiotic - but if with MOS, it's very bitter and difficult to get into a cat. But maybe ask if they have a probiotic that combines it into the strains in the capsule, he may eat that.

If you've had another PCR test done to rule out T. Foetus and everything else... then I suspect his problem is an imbalance of his gut bacteria, likely from the antibiotic treatments due to the T. feotus he had prior. The Frontline may trigger it because it adds stress to his system. The food would be a trigger, because it alters the gut flora. It's not that he shouldn't have high protein, low carb foods - it's that his good gut bacteria is out of whack, and needs (temporarily) the fiber as a growth medium. But you may be able to "fix" this with relatively large doses of probiotics for .... a while. I feed my cats a high protein, basically no carb diet, and I give them probiotics 2x a day, all the time.

Given my past experience with a kitty with explosive diarrhea, this is the method I'd try first.

Thank you Laurie

There were fleas in the house when I moved in January of this year, and it’s carpeted.  I have had it pretty much under control this summer with lots of vacuuming and keeping the dogs out.  I am going to try DE for him.

I’ll give that a try with his food.  He is a hungry boy, so the fasting is going to be tough.  I hate to hear them cry and not do something.  I have feline probiotics on hand.  I don’t give them often.  ‘Acidophilus’… sounds like a Greek building or a Roman tyrant. 

BTW He wasn’t underweight at all, I was just trying to feed him good in order to maximize his genetic potential.  It wasn’t the PCR that was done.  However, the collection of the sample was deep saline flush so I was pretty confident about the results.

I am a bit worried about dehydration.  Thankfully his diarrhea isn’t expolsive and he hasn’t missed the box yet.  But he has a very thick med length coat and I can tell were he has been sitting.  He HATES his behind washed (too close to the jewels) but he never stays mad at me.   

Rondidazole the medication usually used for T. Foetus can cause neurological symptoms.  I don't think it's a delayed reaction though.