please help me interpret what this dosage means giardia drontal plus

i found some info about treating cats with drontal plus for giardia.

this is what it says:

Drontal Plus (Bayer Animal Health) is also an excellent choice for treatment of Giardia. This product includes febantel in addition to praziquantel and pyrantel pamoate. Febantel is the drug component that treats Giardia. Febantel is metabolized into fenbendazole and oxyfenbendazole after oral administration. Drontal Plus is administered once daily for 3 to 5 consecutive days for treatment of Giardia. Drontal Plus has been approved for use in dogs. Drontal Plus has been administered to cats empirically at a dosage of two small dog tablets per cat (about 50 mg/kg febantel) orally for 5 days with subsequent demonstration of decreased shedding of cysts (Scorza, Radecki, and Lappin).

source:

http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.co...m-perfringens-enterotoxicosis-0?rel=canonical

i also found this:

Febantel is a benzimidazole found in a combination product containing febantel, pyrantel, and praziquantel (Drontal Plus—Bayer Animal Health). When we administered the product to adult cats empirically at a dosage of two small dog tablets per cat (about 50 mg/kg febantel) orally for five days, decreases in cyst shedding by experimentally infected cats were noted.⁷⁰ Additionally, four of the six treated cats had no evidence of cysts even after the administration of glucocorticoids in an attempt to induce immunosuppression. Febantel is, in part, metabolized to fenbendazole, which likely explains its benefit for giardiasis.⁷¹ Whether this drug is superior to fenbendazole is unknown.

source:

http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.co...idiosis-giardiasis-and-tritrich?rel=canonical

my question/confusion is that it says to use approx 50mg/kg but it also says 2 small dog tabs per cat.

now i looked up the 2 small dog tablets and it is 22.7mg per tablet. so if it was 2 tablets, that means, it is about 45.4mg.

what i dont understand is that it also says 50mg/kg like that it goes by weight. a kg is 2.2 pounds. are they saying for every 2.2 pounds you give 50mg?

that doesn't seem right. that means if you had a 10 pound cat you would give like 250mg!!!

surely they mean to say 50mg not 50mg/kg

but i looked it up on other sites and they are also saying the same thing (50mg/kg)

i had already bought drontal plus for deworming because even though drontal plus hasnt been approved for cats, i have seen studies that say drontal plus is perfectly fine for cats, only that the amt of dosage for the praziquantel for cats is not exceeded. (and i have used it without any adverse affects for several of my cats)

i have 2 kittens that were just at the vet. one of the kittens has foul diarrhea intermittently ever since i got them (about 3 months ago), was negative for stool sample for coccidia and giardia (or anything else that comes up on a stool test --was NOT an elisa test, they dont have it) but were treated for coccidia anyway. seemed better straight away so i assumed it was gone, but it has come back several times intermittently and is extremely foul odor, gassy, etc... seems to sound like giardia to me. the kitten that has this problem was weighed at the vet and is 5.5 lbs. i want to know if i should just give the 45.4mg (2 small dog pills) or if i am supposed to give a different amount based on weight. based on the example they gave it certainly cant be based on weight if they gave each cat 2 small dog tabs, unless all the cats weighed the same. and even if they did, if they are saying the dosage is really 50mg/kg, and they gave 2 small dog tabs which would be 45.4mg, then that means all the cats weighed 1kg (2.2 lbs) i'm quite certain if they were only 2.2 lbs then they were only kittens not cats. someone please help me to understand the right thing to do. i would call my vet, but they didnt sell me the tablets, i got them online, and the vet wants to do metronidazole, and i dont want to, i want to do drontal plus from what i've read, its a better/safer choice. but i just need to know the right dosage. i'm pretty good at finding my own answers but i cant find any other answers but the ones i'm telling you, and i think those dosages are not making sense.

Giving veterinary advice isn't allowed under the TCS Forum Rules, and it would be highly advisable for you to phone your vet for guidance concerning dosages. Since the kittens are under the vet's care, it's unlikely that the information will be refused.

Jcat is right, and for good reason. I have had arguments with my vets over the years about treatments. Sometimes they are not all up to date with research and I have shown them papers which we have discussed. Sometimes they will agree to try something, sometimes there are good reasons why a new idea would not be suitable for my animals, and sometimes we agree to differ. Then you have to decide what to do. But I would say it is dangerous to treat your cat without telling the vet what you are doing, even if you obtained the medicines somewhere else. Drugs can interact with bad effects, or you may overdose without realising it. You say you yourself you are confused about the dosage, looking at the instructions, and dog dosages are often not good for cats. A good vet will know you have your cat's best interests at heart, and will work with you. I would be open with the vet, and if you don't feel confidence in the diagnosis, then go and find a second opinion. These are strong drugs you are dealing with, and giardia is a nasty bacteria, so I would not proceed without qualified help.

I just want to add that when I took in two kittens with giardia some years ago, metronidazole was the drug we used, and it took three courses to clear the infection, but it did work in the end. W e did try other antibiotics to no avail. It is not an easy thing to get rid of.

i am a newbie as far as registration, but i have been a lurker of this site for at least 5 years if i'm remembering correctly. i have admired and respected how helpful this site has been, but the 2 replies i recieved are not helpful.

medications, diagnosis, what works, what doesnt work, what someone tried with success, dosages, etc have been discussed in great detail on this site on multiple occasions (because i have used info i have found from this site)

also i was not saying anything about using a dog's dosage for a cat, that's not what the post says at all. it says the amount of medicine used was 2 pills of the drontal in the small dog tablets (22mg).

anyhow, i will go back to lurking the site.

and the reason you had to use metronidazole 3 times is because it isnt effective and often has to be repeated, and sometimes has bad side effects because of it (precisely why i dont want to use it)

fenbendazole is the preferred and most effective treatment for it.

since febantel metabolizes into fenbendazole, that is why drontal plus is also effective.

i am highly intelligent, and highly informed, and only wanted to see if someone else had any experience with treating their cats with drontal plus.

apparently no one has.

i will use the 50 mg dose, since that clearly states that's what they treated the cats with in the study.

i came here for help or clarification of any one else's experiences.

As Jcat has noted, one of the site's forum rules is:

2. Do not provide medical advice. Discussing various options is encouraged and you may share your experience including details about what kind of medication was administered and dosage. However, do not suggest to another member that they should change anything in the course of treatment prescribed by their vet without first consulting with a qualified veterinarian.

Click to expand...

Dosages and other options can be discussed, but we always advise checking with your vet before changing the recommended treatment.

My indoor cat was unexpectedly diagnosed with giardia last year. I go to a feline only vet. My vet's standard course of treatment was panacur, a type of fenbendazole. It was a very thick liquid and it did clear the issue up after one course of treatment. I don't remember the exact dosage, but I had to force quite a bit of this thick liquid into her for at least a week. I had it on my walls, floors, etc. You get the idea.