Ragdoll kitty with diarrhea

Asher, 21 week old male neutered ragdoll

Okay so February 13th: I saw blood on his rectum so I took him to an ER vet since it was after hours.
Stool sample showed coccidia and roundworms.
They gave him Drontal and Albon suspension which I administered for 10 days as prescribed.

February 14th: I took him to my regular vet just to let them know what's happening. He also got his booster vaccine. The vet also sent me home with pyrantel to give him on February 27th.

So I keep on top of his meds and watching him. He had some diarrhea but wasn't bad. Then things got better and his stools became normal.

February 27th: administer the pyrantel

February 28th or March 1: I saw blood on his rectum again and poop was diarrhea.

Call the vet take him in on March 3rd: Stool sample shows no signs of parasites or coccidia or anything.

Vet tells me his intestines or something is irritated from all the meds? So she prescribes metronidazole for 5 days twice a day 12 hours between. Then after that's complete give him FortiFlora probiotic for 7 days.

So the 5 days of metronidazole has been complete BUT during those 5 days he had major diarrhea basically liquid slush poop... So I gotta clean his bum every time he uses the litter box cause it got everywhere. Today I started the FortiFlora 1 packet a day for 7 days.

Does anyone else know anything about this type of situation? Does fortiflora really help? Has anyone else noticed increased diarrhea in their kitty after metronidazole??

By the way Asher is on Wellness kitty health dry food and also wellness wet food. He always has fresh bowls and fresh water. He's acting completely normal except for major diarrhea... Still plays, grooms, eats, sleeps and uses litter box.

Please if anyone can give me some advice it would be much appreciated!

I forgot to add I'm going back to the vet on Tuesday the 11th and I'm definitely going to let them know what the metronidazole did and the extremely loose stools.

I'm sorry you are having this problem with your new kitty. Who is absolutely gorgeous by the the way

Has your cat been tested for giardia ? This is not tested for in the normal stool sample and requires its own separate test. But this is something a lot if vets don't seem to think of in cases of diarrhoea like this one.

Never heard of metronidazole causing diarrhoea and I've never used fortiflora. So I'm sorry I can't help you there. But I'm sure other members will be online soon and will be able to offer you great advise on this.

Thank you GemsGem! I will have to ask my vet on Tuesday about giardia and i might as well take in another stool sample and have them test again.

Yeah it's weird how the antibiotic gave him such bad diarrhea but I think I read online some side effects can be diarrhea from antibiotics so idk... I'm hoping this fortiflora for 7 days will make him solid so he doesn't have to get a butt wash after the bathroom.

I also wanted to mention I gave the fortiflora around 9am today the first packet on his wet food. Then just about an hour ago he used the litter box and his poop was still slushy diarrhea but it didn't splatter or expand all over the litter box like before. So hopefully this is some improvement! Fingers crossed

I read a little online just now about giardia... It says vets prescribe metronidazole for cats/kittens who have giardia? So my kitty already had his 5 days of metronidazole but the vet never mentioned finding giardia.. The vet said his tummy is like irritated basically... Weird. Something seems kinda sketchy as if my vet is keeping something from me? Maybe I'm just overthinking it...

Any input is appreciated! Thank you

Hi 

What a gorgeous cat you have :-)

It sounds like his tummy was irritated by too many meds in a short space of time. I think the vet was wrong to prescribe antibiotics so soon and without giving dietary advice. Anti-biotics can cause diarrhea so does dry food as it tends to be too rich. Best thing to do is stop feeding commercial pet food (at least until the diarreah has stopped for a week) just feed plain cooked chicken and fish. No milk- just water. Diarrhea should stop within 24-48 hours. But keep on this simpler diet for at least a week along with the flora thingy from vet as it should help the good bacteria in his gut florish (the antibiotics kill the good bacteria in the gut).

When you are sure the diarrhea has stopped and poo is back to normal and has been for a while, slowly introduce wet food a little at a time along with either the chicken or fish. Monitor his toilet and if diarrhea comes back stop wet food and return to plain cooked chicken/ fish and discuss with vet.

I've had to use this remedy a few times with kittens I got that had only been fed on dry food by previous owner. Vet recommended I do this as they couldn't tolerate the rich dry food they were used to or the wet food I had also given them. They are all fine now though and nearly 2 yrs old.

Hope this helps, but let me know if there's anything else I can help with and keep me updated with your progress :-)