Up to my eyeballs in giardia!

Hi All! My family just acquired 2 beautiful highlander kittens.  Unfortunately, they had a few health issues.  The most troublesome has been giardia.  The male kitten was first diagnosed and both kittens were treated with panacur for 6 days followed by 15 days of flagyl. We followed the vet's instructions of bathing on day 1 and last day for each treatment as well as sterilizing the box a minimum of once a week.  I normally scoop several times a day and disinfect the box 2x/week so this was not a problem.  I also chang/scrub/vaccum the house often, especially the kittens sleeping area, etc.  (I'm a closet germaphobe so you can imagine the frenzy I was/am in.) Now the little female is sick with giardia.  

We now have a new vet.  (The first vet charged a fortune.)  We are on day 2 of 7 days of panacur...again.  Her poop is stinky, soft and messy.  I have changed the box every day and plan to for the next few days, especially while the poop is still soft.  I am also bleaching the entire laundry room where the litter box is kept.  I am also giving the kitties probiotics (I alternate between FortiFlora- recommended by vet--and Proviable DC --recommended by an acquaintance).  

I feed them a good high protein diet (Orijen, Merrick kitten, and Tiki Cat wet food).  Yes, they are spoiled...I spoil my human family too!  the vet recommended a cheaper brand to help bind them up, but I can't find it.  (can you believe it?)

When should I expect to see an improvement in the diarrhea?  Also, is there anything else I can do?  I am cleaning like a mad woman (my hands are raw and bloody from washing and cleaning), feeding them well, giving probiotics to help recover from the flagyl, and we are under the care of a trusted vet.  Will the kittens' immune systems ever take over?  How long will this or can this last? I am sure the kitties are as tired as I am.   I just need to know there is an end in sight and that we can all relax soon.

Thanks for listening.  Please let me know what I can expect in this ordeal.

My sympathies. We recently had 10 kittens with giardia at the shelter, and it took two rounds of two different meds and disinfecting to clear it up in most of them, and an extra round for two of them (they're in three separate rooms). It was 3 or 4 weeks for the first 8, and another 2 weeks for the others, but it did clear up, so hang in there.

Thanks for the support, Jcat!  It is reassuring to know that a difficult case did clear.  Wow! 6 weeks!  I will brace myself.  It has already been 4 weeks.  I can do this! 

I will post updates as they progress.  Hopefully for the better.

You know, I find myself walking down the hall toward the laundry room sniffing the air for that tell-tale stench day and night.  The smell rolls down the hall all the way downstairs.  You can smell it even when the door is closed! Poor babies! Their tummies have to hurt.  (We keep them in the laundry room at night. It's roomy and clean. They roam freely in the house during the day.)

I look forward to the day when I am not preoccupied with poop.

Sigh.

I'm familiar with that preoccupation! For a while it seemed like most conversations at the shelter revolved around kittens' diarrhea. :lol3: Our own cat has IBD and had the runs for months when we adopted him, so sniffing and checking the litter box became somewhat of a compulsion. It's surprising how happy you can be over firm poops!

Ah yes! Firm poops. I'd do a cart wheel for a firm poop.  I think Lil' Wisp (our female's name) is improving.  At least, she isn't using the box several times/day.  Maybe once or twice.  Crossing fingers.

Cara

that means she's on the mend!

You think so?  It is still soft and stinky.  I want to believe it.  Waiting for the vet office to open so I can grill the staff with a million questions.  I hate being 'that patient'; that's why I read a million scholarly articles, forums, etc.  But, then again, my vet warned me about "Dr. Google".  I can't win.  Sigh.  What's a worrier to do???

Update:  Alright.  I know I have not had much response to this thread, but I am posting updates just in case future readers may benefit.  Following the last round of panacur, my female (Lil' Wisp) still had loose stool.  The vet requested that I bring her in for a check up.  She declared her healthy and thriving (thrifty).  She had gained 1/2 a pound in one week (she's still a kitten) and showed no signs of dehydration.  

The vet decided to try a 6 day course 1x/day of Albon, along with a dose of Diagel to firm up the stool.  We are just treating the female this time.  She also wants me to reduce the wet food and continue with the probiotics as well as maintain my (psychotic) cleaning routine.  I am giving the cats Proviable DC probiotics.  For the past couple days, I have been giving my little one double the dose of probiotics.  I am not sure if the Diagel had a significant effect.  The vet did say that I should notice a change in the stool within 72 hours. I have heard THAT before...in fact, I have been hearing that for the last 6 weeks.  

Well, I am on day 4 of the 6 day Albon treatment (just passed the 84 hour mark).  And, the stench has greatly reduced and the stool is a bit more formed.  I am crossing my fingers.  I am not saying this is the cure and that I am completely through this.  I don't even know if the giardia is completely gone or if the coccidia will come back.  I am just happy to see an improvement.   There may be another creepy crawly lying in wait inside her gut.  Who knows?  I am just happy for today.  I would be delighted if all of these issues were giardia and coccidia and we have nipped it in the bud.  Like I said, crossing my fingers, holding my breath and praying for a positive outcome.  

I did buy some Biomed InPouch TF feline tests to test for tritrichomonas foetus.  I asked my vet about it last week and she said she doesn't really see it in her practice.  Not a good answer for me.  Some research claims that TF may infect as much as 30% of the cat population and is often misdiagnosed as giardia.  TF also often accompanies a giardia infection.  It seems more likely that she has seen the disease though has not recognized it.  So, I am bringing her some tests to use on my cats.  I can do them at home, but I think the vet staff has more experience collecting samples and running tests and I feel like she and her staff might benefit from more exposure and information re: this protozoan.  The testing and results would also be documented in their medical history.  I am not saying that my cats have TF, but at least I can rule it out as a possible pathogen.  

More to follow...

I was hoping it was cleared up by now, but know it can take a couple of courses of treatment. that the Albon works!

Thanks Jcat.  I am hopeful.  We will see.  Any prayers will help.  It has been a long ordeal.

Cara

Update: So, we are on a second round of Albon while we wait for our big PCR panel to come back from the lab.  The vet office called today.  They need more poop...to do more screening.  (Had to laugh.)  What they did tell me is that so far, my Lil' Wisp is loaded with giardia..still.  AND she has hookworm.  ***?  (Please excuse my abbreviation.)  Please understand that my kittens have been dewormed twice with their immunizations AND have been through 2 rounds of Panacur of 6 days each.  This has all taken place in the last 7 weeks.  How could there be anything alive in her little gut?  Even the vet is astounded. 

The good news is that she is thriving, gaining weight, and appears healthy in every other way.  And, she still loves me even though I take her to vet to get poked too often.  You wouldn't know anything is wrong except for the stinky diarrhea.  

Please oh please make the nasties go away!!!  *sigh*

I am currently battling giardia with my 6 cats. 5 have been on metronidazole for the last 2 weeks. The other needs to go back on it. Things are improving but I need to work on the environment so they don't reinfect. I cannot use bleach on my hardwood floors but did find a quat called Watchdog NF that is working well. From what I got from my vet, if you don't treat the environment, cats will just keep getting it. It is hard thing to get rid of.

Pattie

When we had it at the shelter I did some research, and most sources said to use a steam cleaner or a stall disinfectant.

What is a stall disinfectant.

Pattie

My vet suspected my cat had giardia and told me to quarentine her in a room for 4-5 days so my other cat didn't catch it.  I don't think that's what she had but I did it anyway.  maybe that would help stop the spreading at your place.

Pdrdld said:

What is a stall disinfectant.

Pattie

Click to expand...

It's a disinfectant used in livestock barns and usually pretty expensive. A steam cleaner is a better choice for a home environment, and you don't have to worry about stains or odors. You need one that's not just for floors or carpets,that is one with attachments.

I have dealt with it here. The way I handled it since we have a cattery is to restrict them to just a couple of litter boxes for the time of treatment. I emptied, washed and bleached litter boxes daily and since I have Persians made sure the nether regions were clean after they used the box. As far as my vet and I are concerned the medicine of choice is fenbendazole, also known as Safeguard. It is a goat dewormer found at farm stores. It is less expensive than the other medicines and if your vet will figure the doseage as mine did it could save you some money and it works faster. Of course my vet is also a farm animal vet. It is worth asking your vet about it. Metronidazole and the other meds are not  as effective treating giardia. Did he actually find giardia in the stool? If not T  foetus is a possibility. Giardia can come from water - if you have a well, boil the water before using it for drinking water.

Update: So the PCR came back. It turns out she has giardia (still), crypto, and hookworm. The hookworm was a surprise as I mentioned. The giardia too. We are waiting for the meds for crypto. I decided to treat the cats with safeguard on my own for the hookworm (and possibly giardia) while I wait for the new med. it explains a lot re: why she just wasn't recovering from giardia. Her little system is being taxed. Overall, my cats are very healthy and growing.

I have continued to clean and sanitize. Using bleach and Lysol for the giardia. As I understand it crypto is extremely resistant to any and all standard disinfectants. Peroxide is effective though I don't think my furniture and floors would survive a 20 minute peroxide bath. Lol. I have looked into steamers but had a hard time finding specs on the heat that individual machines produce. I vacuum often and fortunately my washer and dryer as well as my dishwasher have sanitize cycles. My biggest concern is the health of my kids. Most info out there says that there are specific species of giardia and crypto for cats and that human contamination is rare. Still, I am being cautious. So far my kids are healthy and we have had no concerns. Again, good hygiene has been my failsafe.

Anyway, I will post further updates. I am determined to beat this...even though it's killing me.

Thanks All!!

Any updates for us?