Thymol - is it safe for cats?

julies1907 · Dec 13, 2013

I have a kitten infected with Giardia.

It is recommended to disinfect everything daily while he is recovering but Lysol, Clorox etc., are dangerous and I would like to use natural spray that has thymol (coming from thyme oil)

Is it safe to use around cats?...

Or better stick with Lysol because some herbs are toxic to cats?....

Thank you

stephenq · Dec 13, 2013

Hi,

I trust the kitten is being treated, yes? There is no big reason to treat infected areas with disinfectants unless another cat has access to it or you are at risk of contamination orally. If you are, bleach at a ratio of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water will do take care of it, but you have to rinse with water after a 10 minute wait period to make sure its disinfected and the kitten isn't exposed to the bleach. Once rinsed there is no risk to the kitten or to you.

Giardia is not airborne, it requires hand to mouth to become ill.

julies1907 · Dec 14, 2013

Stephenq

Thank you for replying

There is another kitten in the house who hasn't been exposed to Giardia (hopefully).

That's why I'm going crazy. Also the sick kitten could be re-infecting himself as I understand.

We have old carpet all over the house, so I'm freaking out about how can I possibly disinfect it?!!! Can I treat it with bleach too? But then I won't be able to remove it with water....

Can I spray Lysol all over it?... (Keeping the cats locked up in a bathroom and another one in a closet?.??)

The sick baby has been on Flagyl and Albon for only 3 days. Can he keep re-infecting himself while on meds?....

I have Fibromyalgia, so spraying chemicals around myself is a very bad idea too but I don't care, I'll do whatever it takes - I only care about not poisoning the kitties....

Should I also give some Flagyl to a healthy kitten?...

Thank you

denice · Dec 14, 2013

I just wanted to add that you need to really careful with essential oils around cats. It has to do with how their liver works and their ability to eliminate things from their system. I know they aren't going to be drinking it but it can build up in their system and they are so small.

Bleach is the by far the best disinfectant but it can't be used on everything so I would use the Lysol spray on the things that you can't use bleach on. I personally wouldn't give the Flagyl to the kitten that isn't showing symptoms unless she tests positive for it. That's just me though, I don't like to give or use medication unless it is for a known reason. You could ask your vet about it though.

julies1907 · Dec 14, 2013

Thank you Denice

That's what I was thinking too about the oils. I couldn't find any reliable info on thymol but it does have something to do with thyme oil.

I think I'd use bleach and Lysol but hide the cats from exposure.

I hate medicine too, so I hate to give it to Abby for nothing but it's scary to think that if she did catch it then we'd have to deal with another round of treatment for both of them.

Omg I wish I knew all the answers

Have a great weekend!

stephenq · Dec 14, 2013

Hey
Ok breathe. It isn't that contagious. It isn't spread in the air but only by fecal oral contact. Your carpets should be ok. The only place to really worry about disinfecting is where there is poop like the litter box.

Do not give the healthy kitten any Meds especially without consulting a vet.

Don't let the two cats have contact while the one is sick. And ok she can't reinfect herself.

It's going to be ok!

julies1907 · Dec 14, 2013

Omg

Thank you so much stephenq for your reply. I hope you are right and I'll try to take it easy.

So the carpet is not bad then? Sounds great because that's where my worries are.

No meds for Abby yet. I promise.

I wish more people would tell me that I'm just a psycho with all this worrying

stephenq · Dec 15, 2013

You're fine, keep breathing

Giardia is unpleasant, and not dangerous if treated and the cat stays nicely hydrated. I've been around a LOT of giardia, probably hundreds of cases and I've never caught it. Keep the sick cats area sanitary. If you disinfect with bleach the standard ratio is 1 part bleach to 9 parts water, air dry for 10 minutes and then rinse well to avoid toxicity to the cat. The cat should not be able to touch the bleached area until after rinsing. Always wash your hands thoroughly after handling her, the litter, or cleaning, and/or buy a box of latex gloves from the drug store.

edit: I just saw the part about your Fibromyalgia. Can someone else do the disinfecting and rinsing? If not maybe just do a good soap and water cleaning where the sick cat is living.?

Stay in touch!

julies1907 · Dec 15, 2013

Stephenq

You mentioned that you dealt with Giardia a lot. This is very reassuring to me that you are not making a huge deal out of it and you have experience.
If you don't mind I'd like to ask you a few questions

- did you completely rid your household of it?

- does it go away with one round of treatment?(of 65 mg of metronidazole per day (3.11lbs)) If not how many rounds were needed with how much tome in between?..

- did your cats have any side effects from it?

- did you use more than one medication?

- did your cats fully recover from it? In terms of weight, coat, normal bowel movements?

- did you have any cases when the cat became persistent carrier? For instance the stool becomes normal for a few days/weeks and then another episode after what seemed to be successful treatment?

- did you give your cats probiotics during treatment or it might make the diarrhea worse?...

I would appreciate if you share some of your experience. Any information is precious.

I have absolutely no worries about catching it myself though. Many sources stated that transmission between cats and humans is possible only theoretically but no cases have been actually documented. Plus we humans don't have a habit of licking our butt, so the treatment should be easier

Thank you so much for your help

Julia

Because of Fibromyalgia which I developed after acute stress I can't keep doing this forever. I temporarily increased my anti-anxiety med (Xanax) which relaxes the muscles and helps control pain but it causes horrific withdrawals. One more week and I will probably end up sick and bed-ridden for a few weeks myself....
My husband has SEVERE allergies to absolutely everything, so it has to be me cleaning because he gets anaphylaxis-like reaction...
That's why I'm panicking so much about this thing.... Sorry for complaining...

stephenq · Dec 15, 2013

JulieS1907 said:
Stephenq

You mentioned that you dealt with Giardia a lot. This is very reassuring to me that you are not making a huge deal out of it and you have experience.
If you don't mind I'd like to ask you a few questions

- did you completely rid your household of it? Hi Julie, I've never dealt with it at home, but I have dealt with it many times in the shelter where I work and in temporary emergency shelters around the country that i deploy to as part of disaster and cruelty cases with the ASPCA's Field Investigation and Response Team, of which I am a member. In all the many cases I believe we had a very high success rate of treatment, but I can't give you exact specifics.

- does it go away with one round of treatment?(of 65 mg of metronidazole per day (3.11lbs)) If not how many rounds were needed with how much tome in between?.. In most cases one round was sufficient, but not in every case.

- did your cats have any side effects from it? The most common side effect that I saw was significant drooling at the time of administering, mostly because it tastes awful. It usually comes compounded with a flavor to help disguise it, but some cats just really hate it.

- did you use more than one medication? Yes, Fenbendazole (e.g., Panacur or Drontal-Plus) is considered very effective, possibly more so than Flagyl (Metronizidole) with fewer side effects. Discuss with your vet.

- did your cats fully recover from it? In terms of weight, coat, normal bowel movements? Again I'm speaking generally because they weren't my cats and I wasn't always on site for the entire treatment, but generally they all recovered as far as I know.

- did you have any cases when the cat became persistent carrier? For instance the stool becomes normal for a few days/weeks and then another episode after what seemed to be successful treatment? I have heard of that yes. Treatment involves interrupting the reproductive life cycle of the parasite so once all the parasites are have died, the cat should be clear, but it takes time for all the parasites to go through their life cycle, and if treatment ends too soon or wasn't given properly, the cycle can begin again.

- did you give your cats probiotics during treatment or it might make the diarrhea worse?... We usually gave foritflora once a day.

I would appreciate if you share some of your experience. Any information is precious. I would discuss with your vet the frequency of Flagyl treatment as I'm used to twice a day and discss Panacur as well.

julies1907 · Dec 15, 2013

Thank you SO SO MUCH!!!

And God bless you and your work!

stephenq · Dec 15, 2013

It's my pleasure to help. Talk to your Vet!! :-)

Thymol - is it safe for cats?

julies1907

TCS Member

Thread starter

stephenq

TCS Member

julies1907

TCS Member

Thread starter

denice

TCS Member

julies1907

TCS Member

Thread starter

stephenq

TCS Member

julies1907

TCS Member

Thread starter

stephenq

TCS Member

julies1907

TCS Member

Thread starter

stephenq

TCS Member

julies1907

TCS Member

Thread starter

stephenq

TCS Member

Latest Posts

Connect with us