Giardia in kitten

Hello

I adopted a kitten about a week ago and when I brought him home he had really bad smelling diarrhea and was passing gas. The diarrhea was yellow in color.

My husband panicked and we decided to quarantine him for some time while monitoring his symptoms. We have another kitten who is perfectly healthy and we don't want to put her at risk.

After diarrhea and gas hadn't subsided for two days we took the baby to the vet and he was diagnosed with Giardia parasite infection. He was given Flagyl and Albon and the doctor said to keep him in a separate room until symptoms improve.

The kitten comes from a multiple cat household and his foster mom already had given him those meds (she told me). Does that mean that his infection is resistant?...

Is it really bad if he gives it to my resident girl kitten?...

How long does it take for a kitten to recover from this?...

How long should I keep him isolated?....

Can he pass it to humans?....

Anybody had any experience with this?...

How often should I sanitize the room?... (We have carpet )

I'm worried and overwhelmed with all this....

I want to love him just like I love my girl kitten but it's hard to get over all this sanitizing routine and I don't know if I should maybe bring him back?... I hate to think about it but if it poses significant risk to Abby I might decide to do that.... I feel like a horrible person....

Please help

Thank you

Julia

I have not had experience but spent a bit of time looking around the internet a couple of days ago when someone else was looking for similar information. This link might give you some of the answers you are looking for:

http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/giardia/giardia-and-pets.html

I hope if is helpful.  The question of cross infection to humans seems to throw up different answers and if it was me I would definitely go with using caution esp, if anyone comes in to the house who has a compromised immune system, older people or young children. Also if I was going to visit others who fall in to those categories as you can carry in from one place to another e.g. on your shoes.

It seems pretty common and very infectious so you really shouldn't feel bad.  I know that's easier said than done but please be kind to yourself.  I wish you all well and have my fingers crossed that your other kitten stays well.  You did exactly the right thing in quarantining your kitten, going straight to the vet, and now looking at all the control measures.  

I do think you should talk to the people you adopted this kitten from because it seems strange that they did not know anything about it if it was so immediately evident when you got him home.  Some reassurance and possible assistance for the treatment / infection control measures would not seem out of order.  In terms of protecting your other cat and maybe taking your sick kitten back, sadly the parasite is now in your home whether you return the kitten or not.  I think this very much depends on your own feelings about the kitten and the situation as a whole, and if the kitten recovers quickly or not.  You may want to talk to them now and make a decision when it is clear whether your boy's infection is resolved by the treatment, though that runs with it the risk of the ever closer bond we all fall prey to.

 

Hi Julia. I have had experience with diarrhea in kittens, usually giardia or coccidia. I have used panacur/flagyl for 5 days with giardia and albon for coccidia. Sometimes a combination of metronizadole with one of these above medications. For coccidia it is usually a 7 day dose. Even though he has been treated before, he could have gotten reinfected. I have been advised by vets to bleach everything that kitty has been around. I also recommend putting your kitty in a place that is easy to clean, like a bathroom. I would also give kitty probiotics in food once meds are done. It usually helps their digestive system and helps makes their poo more firm. Giardia is a zoonotic disease. However, I have not contracted it myself and have dealt with a lot of giardia in the past. I would talk to your vet. I would isolate him till you are sure he is free and clear. You may need to get another fecal test after he goes through the treatment. It is very contagious, mostly to other animals.Hope that helps. How have other people dealt with this situation?

Thank you MServant and Betina07

From what I've read so far only Mercola's website states with certainty that Giardia can be passed on to humans. Even CDC says that the chances of transferring it to humans is small because the strains are different.

What I'm going to do is this:

1. Clean the floors in the entire house with bleach solution including the carpet

Chase (the sick kitten) is currently isolated to one bedroom but I'm considering moving him to the bathroom (tile floors) and bleaching the entire room. OMG I hate that carpet!!!


2. Putting away ALL his toys and treat them with Clorox/Lysol and keep them away for now

3. Wash everything he'd been in contact with (we just moved so we don't have furniture yet)

I don't know - as Im typing it I realize that I can't use so many chemicals.... I'm allergic to most of them as is my husband.... And I don't want to create toxic environment for my kitties....

Omg what a mess!!!!.....


As for the person we adopted him from I have mixed feelings about her ranging from admiration for saving so many animals to just plain anger for being so irresponsible.

She assured me that the kitten is healthy and has no issues.

After I contacted her she said that she'd provide Flagyl free of charge which means that she knew he had something. But tried to tell me the diarrhea was from stress!!! How stupid does she think I am?!

In the last email she said:"Its just a parasite. Its not hurting anyone!" Can you believe that?!!!
And suggested that we give the kitten back to her for two weeks of treatment and she'd get him perfectly healthy by keeping him with her other 20(!!!) cats....
Is it just me or she really irresponsible?... She said I'm overreacting....

There was another kitten in the same cage with Chase who looked really sick and lethargic. I wish I didn't overlook that fact and just walked away.... I understand now that she has an outbreak of protozoan parasites in her house and with so many cats and kittens it's virtually impossible to contain it....
With all that said there is nothing I can do because I know in her heart she means well and if she told everyone about parasites she wouldn't place a single kitten. And that's why I'm not going to make any public complaints or anything. I just wish she wins lottery and builds a huge cat shelter with all the proper hygiene and medical care....

For all I know we already spread Giardia everywhere on the day we brought him in before we got the diagnosis....

As for me I'll keep bathing myself in Clorox and Lysol every time after I touch Chase in hope to not pass it to Abby... It's easier to treat one sick kitty than two.... I did want to bring him back initially but he is a living being not some damaged goods I bought at the store.... If everyone turned their back on sick and needy animals because it's just too much work then what would become of this world?... I hate to admit that I thought that way in a moment of weakness....
Also I was saving up some money to buy myself an iPad for Christmas and now all that money will be gone on vet bills... My husband and I are not working at the moment and we can only afford buying food and paying bills for ourselves. No clothes or anything else. Ok I'm complaining again... Sorry I'm just venting....

Thank you all the good cat people for sharing and advice

Julia

You are amazing.  I so hope Chase responds completely to his medication and that after your intensive efforts cleaning your home everything to do with the giardia is gone. 

I don't have allergies to chemicals on the whole but do my best to keep their use to a minimum and I would share your reservations. However there is a serious need to use what ever is effective on this occasion.  Can anyone help you with the cleaning? (I'd be there, and will be in spirit).  My other thought here is to be careful with any residual smell of bleach as cats and sometimes they will pee in areas that smell of it. Perhaps someone who has had to thoroughly clean large areas like this would know more about the possible effect for this.

I find it very difficult to understand someone keeping so many sick cats together and re-homing without saying anything. If she were here in the UK I suspect the kittens and cats would be rescued and not be left with her in those conditions but I appreciate things are different around the world, and some countries have much bigger issues with stray and feral cats. I am sure she means well. I can not blame you for having thoughts about taking your kitten back there, but at the same time I am happy and relieved that you currently feel you want to keep him, get through this awful experience and get in to enjoying life in your new home with your two young kittens.  May this current phase be over as quickly as possible so that your home can be filled with the thundering paws of healthy kittens playing together and running around creating havoc.

Giardia is pretty common in kittens/cats and no reason to panic or overuse harsh chemicals. A couple of days of antibiotics usually clears it up. The vet may want to do another fecal to make sure it's gone; if not, another round of a different med may be used. Keep him away from your other cat till the antibiotics are finished and he's no longer showing symptoms, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after interacting with him and cleaning his litter box, and clean that thoroughly with diluted bleach. that he recovers quickly.

Thank you so much for positive reassurance:bigthumb:

Chase did not have diarrhea today! The smelly gas seems to be going away too.

I had to lock him up in the bathroom though, so I can spray Lysol on the carpet in the bedroom we keep him in. Poor little guy - OMG when he recovers I will make it up for him with lots of playtime and love but now he is so miserable in there. For now I have to wipe off the carpet and let the Lysol residue dissipate before letting him back out. There is an AC vent in the bathroom and I disinfected it early in the morning and then washed everything away with water twice, so he wouldn't inhale chemicals. I hope I did good....

Do you think I should keep him in the bathroom though? That carpet is my major issue right now because I can't bleach it. I think I'm going to ask this in a separate thread how to clean the carpet of Giardia cysts...

I also need to ask about the medication duration and dosages....

Can I please post it in two individual threads?.... I don't want to spam - I just hope someone will reply if I'm asking something more specific... I'm also very confused....


I think I will give Flagyl to my Abby as well although no symptoms are present yet. I feel horrible about it but we were walking in and out of that room first few days before we got Giardia diagnosis. I really want to prevent any slightest chance of re-infection.

How high is the chance of her getting it through the carpet?... She walks all over it and then licks herself, so my guess is she probably got it....

If I give her Flagyl how many days then?... And what is the dosage?..

Thank you

Much love

Julia

You can start and post in as many threads as you like, in which ever Forum looks like the most suitable one for each topic.  Sometimes it is good to post a really specific title so the advisors / Mods and members who have particular interests / knowledge spot it.

With Abby I'm not sure if it would be best to give her antibiotics when she hasn't got symptoms, or boost her immune system with probiotics.    Maybe @Betina07 or someone else who had managed through this before could give you a good answer?  

I don't think I would rush letting them back in to the room with the carpet until you've got a bit more information about how long the cycts can survive, and if there are other ways for cleaning.  It must be really hard when they want out and feel well and want to play.  Could you let Chase have a little ball or two that are a smooth, cleanable material like table tennis balls or something if he hasn't got that already?

Can you talk with your vet about the duration and doses for medication or did you not feel they had that much information.  I don't see why you shouldn't be able to check that kind of thing over the phone.

MServant

I'm simply getting a second opinion on the meds because I saw in some posts people were saying something about 10 days vs 5. The vet's instruction was 5 days but at the time we did not know full history that he'd been previously treated with the same meds. It took me a few frustrated emails to get it out of that lady

I still somehow can't fully blame her because in Florida the cat overpopulation is a huge problem, so they are routinely euthanized for minor issues. Let's send her some positive vibes so she hits those lotto numbers soon She could put that money to good use andI honestly wouldn't be able to do what she is doing for the animals... I just realized that I'm saying it because I'm so angry at her though. LOL

I will call the vet Monday and ask him about Abby as well It's more like hit or miss I think because the incubation period is a week or two, so the symptoms might not show up by the time Chase recovers and then we are going to start the whole conundrum all over again...

Thank you so much for keeping in touch

Julia

Thinking of your household and fingers crossed here that Chase continues to improve and Abby stays clear.  I'll be here on TCS looking to see how things go. 

And of course, sending lots of positive thoughts for cat lovers across the USA to win lotteries and put their funds to more and better care for stray and feral cats.  I can only hope we don't develop more of a problem with that here in the UK.

Hi Julia, 5 days with Flagyl/panacur is what my vet and other vets I have spoken with recommend for Giardia. 3 days for regular deworming. If your girl kitten has had minimal contact with Chase and is not showing any signs of illness, you probably would not need To medicate her. Good luck and keep us in touch.

I know this chain is quite old, but I have a very similar situation now, and I thought I would reply. I adopted a kitten from a well known Los Angeles rescue. The cat was living with a foster with extremely dirty carpet and a lot of other foster cats. I fell in love with this kitten, who jumped right up to say hello and seemed to say to me "get me out of here". When I got him home, I realized that he was not well -- he had diarrhea, sneezed some and had a ton of fleas. After the vet reported giardia, I started quarantining him. However, this was after I stupidly introduced him to our other kitten and two older cats. Luckily the two older cats stayed away from the new arrival, but our other kitten got very sick (needed IVs to combat the fever). Turns out that the new kitten also has bartonella. So both kittens are now quarantined in separate rooms. We are treating the bartonella with good success (Veraflox), and are working on the giardia (one week of both Flagyl and Panacur).

I'm trying to figure out how long to quarantine after the giardia treatment is over. Does anyone have experience with retesting and quarantine times?

Also, how much bleaching is really needed? Since we have hardwood floors and carpet that can't be bleached, would a week or two of a room sitting empty allow the cysts to die off? I'd welcome thoughts on that too.

https://pawpatchplace.com/files/2015/12/Amy-Giardia.pdf
Giardia Questions
Giardia and Pets | Giardia | Parasites | CDC
Giardiasis in Cats Is Miserable but Is Fortunately Uncommon

Welcome to The Cat Site! These articles will probably give you a lot of the information you are looking for. The second one is a long thread from TCS from about 5 years ago. As for carpeting, almost all sources (and you are going to see that the information here will overlap from site to site) recommend steam cleaning.