Please help - Giardia & Cryptosporidium X 3 kitties

A month after losing our 21 year old to renal failure, my husband and I adopted these 3 beautiful kitties from a no kill shelter in Palm City FL.  Two are 6 month old litter mates, and the 3rd cat is a 1 1/2 years.  Promptly took  them to vet for check up (as we inherited 3 cases of cow pie like stool).  No parasites in fecal float, but treated with Albon suspension and Proviable probiotic.  Appeared to get better, then quickly relapsed once off meds.  Back to vet, treated with Panacur for 5 days.  No help, stools were sometimes looking like they might be getting better, then they would go from cow pie to liquid.  CBC was then done, but nothing.  Tried Diet changes, grain free, pumpkin, you name it....nothing worked. After more reading, and reading, and reading....we brought them back to the vet again and asked them to do a PCR on all three looking specifically for tritrichomonas since they had not been treated for that.  After 5 weeks we finally had an answer.  Results came in and they ALL TESTED POSITIVE FOR GIARDIA AND CRYPTOSPORIDIUM.   A week into our treatment and I am afraid this is getting much worse :-(

Today is the last day for Panacur.

ProBiostatin is to continue, but not a problem administering that.

They are also on Mentronidazole 2X per daythrough today.

Lastly they are on Tylan suspension 2X per day for 14 to 21 days for the Cryptosporidium.

I have no idea how to get these poor babies normal.   The diarrhea is more chronic than ever before.  Is this due to the treatment?   Should I expect this?  Do chronic symptoms get worse before it gets better normally?  Their boxes are cleaned after every use, if they make it there.  The areas are sanitized (floors, litter boxes, etc.)  We are fanny washing after they use the box, but carefully since they are so sore at this point.  This has become a 24/7 ordeal, and my lungs hurt from breathing in cleaners.  In 24 years of being a cat mom, I never experienced anything so horrible.  I am sorry for the gross content, but they are literally diarrhea is actually leaking from them now and it seems as though it is getting drastically worse.  I have them quarantined, the kittens together and the older girl separate, but this is difficult as I don't have crates or anything.   The oldest seems the worst off....as if she does not even try to get to the box.  It is also now becoming very cost prohibitive.

I am so worried for their health.  They are all so sweet.    I notified the shelter to advise them (in a very diplomatic way, just so they could help their kitties), they have an issue they should really attend to, but they were defensive and said they don't have any problems at all there and if I want I can bring them back.  That was not why I called them.  Seriously, bring them back to those deplorable conditions.  And they are trying to tell me we picked the only 3 cats out of 150 of them that have this condition!  So, in trying to do the right thing, they insult me! I am heartsick after getting attached to my sweet girls. 

Has anyone experienced this reaction from these medications?  It seems like a lot of horrible meds to put into their tiny bodies.

Should I stop treatment?  Is this an allergic reaction?  They all are still alert, breathing ok, and playful in between their "explosions".

Can cats ever get cured?  This is like a plague and just does not seem to want to be eradicated.
Since we don't know how long they had chronic symptoms prior to moving to our home, could there be permanent, irreparable damage done to their intestinal tract?

I am not sure what to do....we cannot share our home with these girls if this does not stop soon.  We are not set up to quarantine animals, as our previous kitties never had issues like this. 

How long does this chronic or worsening diarrhea last before we see improvement?  

I emailed my vet yesterday to see about boarding them during the medication cycle since they can separate them in cages and watch for any negative reactions, but I have not heard back from them.  I don't think they want my parasitic kitties in their clinic for a lengthy stay.

Please help with any advice.   I am doing everything possible to make these babies healthy.  I have no idea what they may have been treated for prior to our adopting them, and I have no idea how long they suffered with these symptoms before moving to our home.  Thank you all in advance for any help you can offer.

Ah, I'm sorry! Giardia and crypto are a huge pain for sure, but unless the cat is very ill already or a very young kitten, they are not life threatening.

Intestinal parasites like giardia are very common in kittens because their immune systems aren't yet strong enough to fight them off. Crypto is less common, but it's not entirely unusual. The 2 kittens probably infected the other one. It's very easily spread. The key aside from treatment is disinfecting their environment with a 10% ammonia solution, not bleach, because bleach does not kill crypto, and during the first couple of weeks of treatment the cats are stil shedding cysts and can reinfect themselves easily. So keeping them in an easy to clean room or cage is helpful, and periodically sanitizing the surfaces and litter boxes with ammonia will help.


So, to answer your question, yes antiobiotics like metronidazole can also cause diarrhea in addition to treating it, which is unfortunate. Metronidazole, while often effective against stubborn strains of giardia, is the harshest of the medications you've listed in terms of side effects and if it is causing too many problems I would ask about stopping that particular treatment for now. Panacur also treats giardia and is very mild, but it is usually not quite as effective as metro.

Another complicated part of multiple parasitic infections is that if treatment of one is working well it can make room for the other one to take over and become more prominent and cause more symptoms, so it is not necessarily the medications directly that are making the diarrhea appear worse.

The tylosin is also a well tolerated medication and can usually be given generously without risk. It is for the crypto, although I have been told that it is necessary to give it for at least 30 days to get rid of an infection, sometimes 60 for a stubborn strain. It has a very strong taste, so it might be less stressful to give it in a pill form. You can buy #4 size capsules and tylosin powder pretty cheaply online, administering 1 to 4 capsules depending on thr weight of the cat every 12 hours.

The next option if all else fails for crypto is azithromycin, but it can cause serious side effects and I wouldn't try it until everything else had been exhausted.

There is another treatment for intestinal parasites that is not very common, but has shown very promising results in studies, and that is to administer the yeast probiotic S. boulardii. This probiotic creates a hostile environment for parasites in the GI tract while allowing good bacteria to flourish. I haven't ever tried it myself, but you can read more about it here: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/283161/saccharomyces-boulardii-use-for-diarrhea-and-gi-disease-incl-ibd

Something else to understand about gi parasites is that they really thrive on carbohydrates. So starving them a bit by keeping your cats' diets as low carb as possible can reduce the severity of the diarrhea somewhat, although diet alone isn't enough to completely cure it. But feeding a canned food with a high percentage of meat should make things a little more manageable. Fancy Feast classics are a goos budget friendly option.

If you were to do absolutely nothing, the kittens' diarrhea would likely subside by about 1 year of age when their immune system developed enough to handle it. They would still be contagious to other cats, though, which is why these parasites spread so easily. I'm sure many of the cats in that shelter have various parasites but the volunteers aren't aware because they are not showing symptoms.

With a bit of patience and persistence, you are going to be able to cure these kitties. Depending on how long they've been infected and their quality of life before they may have some minor GI sensitivities, but likely not anything major. It wouldn't be a bad idea to administer daily probiotics even after they are fully cured to help keep things running smoothly. You don't need the expensive vet probiotics, just a good human probiotic with a lot of l. acidophilus should do the trick. It's what I feed my now healthy cat with a history gi problems with every meal.

Wow...what a wealth of knowledge.  I definitely appreciate your advice.  They have 1 more dose of metronidazole tonight, vet said to continue that.  Then it will just be the Tylan suspension 2X per day and the ProBiostatin (probiotic).  I will make sure to feed them high protein, low carb at least for now.  I have quite a bit high protein and LID foods that they love.  We dropped the oldest kitty off at the vet to be monitored...she is literally seeping and I think they need to put a Elizabethan collar on her because she will not stop tending the area :-(   I've never seen a cat behave the way she is behaving.  Our previous 3 kitties never, never had an issue and they lived to ripe old ages.  I am so terribly upset, but with 3 of them it is constant and we are not equipped to be able to totally separate them all.  I have been using an ammonia/water solution 50:50.....it's no wonder I cannot breath!  I will reduce the mixture.  Their boxes are lined, changed at least once daily, scooped after every use, and disinfected with the ammonia solution every time they are changed.  I have been sleeping on the couch in the den so I can hear when they are digging at night which allows me to scoop and fanny clean before sister gets in on the action.  We gave them a full bath yesterday and another tomorrow morning since their last dose of Giardia medicine is tonight.  I also ordered Chlor4 shampoo.   We have them restricted to a tiled laundry room, bathroom and hallway, which I mop every day with the ammonia water...of course I remove the babies from the area, but the fumes truly killing me.

We removed all the area rugs from rooms they have access to and plan on stem cleaning all the rugs and furniture, including their cat trees, before getting them back to the main areas of the house.  Should I throw all of their toys away too?  I have not taken them from the yet because the kittens constantly play.  They have such high energy and are so sweet it is hard to believe they are sick.  And I really don't know how they are still so loving toward me after all the horrible medications I have been giving them.

They are all due for their Revolution topical, but I have been avoiding that until these other meds are finished.  What do you think?

I cannot thank you enough for the ray of hope.  I was beginning to think this is a lost cause and the 24/7 monitoring is taking it's toll on us.

Jackie

UPDATE:

2 weeks ago our newly adopted kitties were diagnosed with Giardia and Cryptosporidium.  Treatment for both was started immediately.  Metronidazole, Panacur and ProBiostaten for the Giardia (medication finished on 11/3)  and Tylan 200 mg Suspension 2X day for the Cryptosporidium.  Regarding the Crypto, all the cats still have cow pie to liquid stool.  They are on day 11 of Tylan treatment.  Should we expect to be seeing some improvement yet?  We are doing all we can.  Isolated them to small easy to clean area of house.  Constant disinfecting, cleaning litter pan, fanny washing, timely dosing, stema cleaning surfaces, ammonia washing, carpet cleaning.....you name it. 

I've heard this can take up to 30 days to treat.  Has anyone gone through this?  Please share any experience and any advice you might have.  Very frustrating to deal with.  We are going through about 70 pounds of litter a week.  There does not appear to be any improvement yet, despite our efforts.  We don't know if the Giardia is cured either, as vet said it is too early to retest (will do another PCR). 

This is getting extremely costly.  We thought we adopted three healthy babies to provide them with a good home.  Nearly $2000  and countless hours scrubbing, litter box monitoring, dosing our babies (this seems like a lot of meds to give their tiny bodies!)  Seems all for naught so far.

Any words of wisdom out there??? They would be so greatly appreciated.  Thank you.

I can only imagine how frustrating this much be for you .  No words of wisdom, just hoping that soon the medicaton will kick in and you'll get some relief.  I know that the Crypto can be hard to kill, so you may still have a ways to go.  Do you thin kitty diapers would help, or just make it worse?  Have you asked you Vet when you should see ANY relief, even if the Crypto isn't yet completely dead? 

Also, I don't know anything about the Pro-Biostatin you are (were?) using, but did you consider the S. boulardii. @Molly92 recommended?  I definitely would. 

We have not changed the Probiotic "yet" to the S. boulardii......we are going the course with what the vet prescribed so far hopng another week will make all things well.  The pro-biostain, as I was told, has certain bacteria that combat the Giardia specifically.  As if one of these parasites isn't enough, they are all infected with 2 stubborn buggars..  My oldest girl, Annabelle, has been at the vet for 12 days tomorrow, but my husband and I agreed it is time to bring her home tomorrow morning and keep her isolated until we are sure the "leaking/seeping" has stopped (the other 2 girls did not have this issue).  We purchased a large kennel cage to keep her quarantined here at home....away from other germs, kitties, and barking dogs!!!.  Tia Marie, one of the twin torties, has made good progress.  Today she has had what appears more solid stool.  Her littermate, Isobel, is still liquid, but not as frequent.  She alleviates herself twice a day as opposed to 5 or 6 times a day!    I am aware this can take a month, sometimes 2 months, to eradicate.   I pray they all get better soon as this is trying on us and our babies.  They have been bathed daily, although with our Annie at the vet I don't think they took as good care.  The floors are mopped with ammonia water daily....ammonia laundry, litter box, etc.....we just want to get this right so there is no longer a contamination among them. 

Annie will stay quarantined from the younger two girls until we are sure she can not re-infest them.  It is a good thing I work from home and my husband is long retired.   We would not be able to combat this terrible ordeal otherwise. Our home is small, but we can do it.  If they were all at the vet they would have no more than a small cage until this subsides.  I feel in my heart that Annabelle is better suited here with us.  At least we can monitor her constantly, properly bath her as needed,  and not wait for a "call back" or rely on a vet "tech" to help her. 

Thank you for your concern. 

There does not seem to be a lot of advice on these parasites.  I will post how we progress with hope to help another looking for advice. 

Thought I would give an update on where we are.  Giardia treatment has been over, but we are 16 days into treating for the Cryptosporidium with Tylan 200 mg suspension.  Annabelle (1 1/2 yrs) and Tia St. Marie (6 mo) seem to be doing a bit better....looks like they are trying to form a bit.  Poor Isobel (Tia's litter-mate) is still liquid. 

After reading other posts on this site, I ordered the Jarrow S Boulardii + MOS.  I have heard it is bitter, so if we have issues I will mix with some soft food and water and syringe them.  Should arrive tomorrow and I am anxious and hopeful to see if it brings any relief. 

Anybody have advice on the dose?  It seems like the older girl should get 1/2 capsule twice a day, and the younger girls 1/4 capsule twice a day, but I can increase if necessary???  Does this sound correct??    Also, it is my understanding the S Boulardii can be given about the same time as the Tylan?  or better to wait an hour??

Our vet said treatment can be anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 weeks, so we are prepared for the long haul. 

Any experience is welcome please.

Any advice out there would be appreciated.

We are going on 3 months with these kitties and after so much medication I do not yet see results.  We are beyond frustrated and I do not think they will EVER be cured. 

2 weeks ago we switched veterinarians.  Our original vet did not respond to my calls and email about appointment for tapeworm.  While our new vet seems to have rid the girls of their tapeworm friend, We are on day 10 of Metronidazole (AGAIN....this is our 3rd and lengthiest round of Metro, also had 2 five day rounds of Panacur!!!)   This round of Metronidazole was prescribed for 14 days, 2X per day.   It seems like too much on them after all they have been through already.  All of them are losing their energy as of yesterday.  :-(  Stool seemed to be firming up but now is going back to liquid with visible blood in it again.  Their last dose of this is supposed to be Sunday morning.  Should I stop?  This new vet has the girl's history and said that she has treated for 14 days to rid Giardia in other cats and it has worked. 

They are also on day 38 of Tylosin 200 mg suspension for the Cryptosporidium.  I am told to give this until 7 days past a normal stool.  Seriously?????  Will this ever happen while we are pumping so much medication into them?

Where do we go from here? 

How long after kitties are off the Metronidazole can we do another PCR for the Giardia?  I cannot afford another false negative fecal test (this vet insisted on a pathology test after seeing flagellates under her microscope....Antech Labs managed to say all were "negative"....waste of money!!!)

I can't help with cryptosporidium since I have had no experience with it, but I can tell you that around my area that metronidazole is not the medicine of choice for giardia. My vet told me to use fenbendazole to treat when we had giardia in my cattery. I bought it at Tractor Supply and my vet figured the doseage for my cats. I treated all the cats twice at a cost of $40 for the medication before they tested clear. Like stated before sanitation to keep them from reinfecting one another is key. One other thing to consider is having your water tested if you are on a well. We installed multiple filters on ours as a precaution since we were not sure how giardia got into the cattery. It could have been brought in by a new cat but I wanted the extra security of the filters.

Thanks Lynda.  Fenbendazole?  Is that the same as Flagyl?  Not sure I am spelling correctly.  We are keeping the cats very clean and bought large kennels to separate them in the evening or when we step out (hardly at all....I work from home and my husband is retired) with separate food, water and litter boxes.  Their boxes have been cleaned "AS SOON" as they are used.  No exaggeration when I say "as soon as", they do not even have the opportunity to bury their deposit.  paws, bottoms, and feathers are wiped clean with warm shampoo water and rinsed, and they have been bahed with Chlor4 shampoo after their previous treatments.

We are on city water, however we are giving the girls bottled water since we learned of this fiasco.   

Not sure where to go if this all fails.  

No fenbendazole is different. Flagyl is metrodazole(spelling?). Fenbendazole is sold as Safeguard( a goat wormer ) at Tractor Supply.

Hi there...thank you. I looked both up. The Fenbendazole /safeguard is same as Panacur as well. We have had 2 rounds of Panacur already with no results. If this 3rd 14 dat round of Metronidazole/Flagyl does not work, I am going to have another test done for the T. foetus. As consciencious as we are with cleaning, separating them, dosing timely, etc...I find it hard to believe this in so persistent.
Thanks again for following up! [emoji]128578[/emoji]

I would go ahead and have them tested for TF. Cats can be infected with more than one at the same time. That way if TF is the problem you will not be treating with ineffective medications.The only drug available right now for TF isn't 100% effective, but most cats 'grow out' of the loose stool phase with time.That doesn't mean they don't still have the protozoa, just that their bodies are dealing with it better. They would still be infectious to other cats. Here is a link to a booklet written by the leading TF expert in the US, Dr Jody Gookin.

https://cvm.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ownersguide-to-feline-t-foetus.pdf

Thank you again yes I have been in touch with Judy Gookin over a month ago. They have ruled out the tri trichomonas but my husband and I were discussing that we still think they may have this. I have been extremely displeased with my Veterinary Services. They have 4 days left on metronidazole and we will have another PCR test completed for the tri trichomonas come the beginning of the year. I understand that one night as well as the only medication used for this and you have to watch closely for side effects so I am not thrilled about using that drug if we don't need to. Hopefully the new year brings us some luck... we sure could use it around here. Tx. Jackie

I am sorry...replied via voice to keyboard. I understand that Ronidazole is used for treating tritrichomonas but I am wary of using until we lnow for certain. We will see how they progress once off the current med.

I have not been online much, but wanted to update this post so others know how we are progressing with our Giardia, Crypto, and tapeworms. 

Our three girls have been on s boulardii with MOS going on 6 weeks.  I think it has helped, but they have been so heavily medicated their 3 months with us.  We are finally seeing an actual stool (shaped) although still a little wet and not 100 % there.  All 3 are still on tylosin 200 mg suspension for Crypto  (dosed according to their individual weights) 2 x per day.  Jan 1 will be 60 days on the Tylosin, and they have gone through several rounds of Mentronidizole and Panacur for the Giardia.  Today was their 3rd round of Drontal (praziquantel) for tapeworms....yes, every 2 weeks since November 24th....we are still seeing live tapeworm in Annabelle's this morning and found a couple of dried granules in Tia's bedding (they are separated for treatments).  All are on Revolution Flea Topical since we brought them into our home 3 months ago.  Vet called me back this evening suspicious of perhaps a different "more stubborn" type of tapeworm...."taenia taeniaeformis", strobilcercus???? I it is believe from consumed rodent liver, as opposed to flea/larvae.  Here is a link to info on that if anyone else has issues http://www.cat-world.com.au/tapeworms-in-cats    They would not have gotten their paws on a rodent in our home, but the shelter from which we adopted them is a HIGH probability, as they were in a farm like situation with some of the older cats (like Annabelle) given access to the outdoors.  A VERY POOR SITUATION/ ENVIRONMENT FOR ANY KITTY!!!!!  They are strictly indoors in their home with us. Our pest company was here yesterday to do a special flea treatment to the entire home, which will be repeated in 10 days (cycle stages).  This is in the event they still have any fleas on them, but I cannot imagine that given I have gone over them all with a flea comb daily and not one flea has been pulled from them after their first month with us.  I've also not found any flea "dirt" (actually bloody flea feces) on white tiled areas where they congregate (like their food dishes).  I had seen this early on.  Nonetheless, we are taking the precaution and going through with the flea fumigation.  

Back to the s boulardii + MOS, I have had no issue giving this to them.  Tasted it myself, and it is not bitter like I've read online...really just a bland probiotic...maybe a bit malt flavor.  It is mixed in their food and consumed without issue by all three of them.  All are getting 2 capsules per day , am & pm, both our adult Annabelle who is 10.8 pounds, and the 2 eight month old girls who are 9 pounds and 6 pounds respectively.  I purchased the Jarrow brand on Amazon....180 capsules for about $35. if I recall correctly.   They are also now on a high fiber diet (per vet), Nutro brand chicken and brown rice, which was the highest fiber I could find without going into a hairball formula which I don't think is good for their young bodies right now.  They are also on a fiber product, psyllium husk powder.    All this said, the problems are getting better.   No more "leaking", and 1 or 2 trips to their litter boxes per day for their stinky business. :-)  Their stools have formed up, so I am hoping after we rid them of the tapeworms, they will begin to progress even more quickly.  I will keep them on Tylosin as directed by their new Dr. which is 7 days past a "normal" stool.  Not there yet, but we are optimistic what the new year will bring. :-)  Hopefully the Giardia is gone (our tiniest cat, Isobel...now 6 pounds, was on the Metronidazole for 21 days this last treatment).  Last dose was on Christmas Eve, and she still seems to be doing pretty well. 

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I'm about to embark on the same with a large pack. I'm wondering if a steamer may do the trick for crypto instead of the 50/50 ammonia/water. I got baby gates in case to block off wet rooms. With my current respiratory problems I'm just concerned about all those fumes. I've read that ammonia 10% kills it but feel like I need a rebreather mask to handle the smell & don't want to injure my dogs or cats of course. Anyway it was encouraging to read your posts and see some improvements. I know it's a big job and have been gearing up for it.
I'm surprised more people have not had these challenges. Rescues for sure do.

jalenarose said:

Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I'm about to embark on the same with a large pack. I'm wondering if a steamer may do the trick for crypto instead of the 50/50 ammonia/water. I got baby gates in case to block off wet rooms. With my current respiratory problems I'm just concerned about all those fumes. I've read that ammonia 10% kills it but feel like I need a rebreather mask to handle the smell & don't want to injure my dogs or cats of course. Anyway it was encouraging to read your posts and see some improvements. I know it's a big job and have been gearing up for it.
I'm surprised more people have not had these challenges. Rescues for sure do.

Click to expand...

Hi JalenaRose...I have not posted in what seems to be ages. I am sorry to hear you are having the same issue. I thought perhaps a good time to update our post.
All 3 of my girls are now "free & clear of any and all parasites, worms, fleas, etc..." Our nightmare lasted 4 months, but come mid January we had 3 healthy torties. My kitties are strictly indoors and have been since we brought them home. We purchased cages to keep them separated during the ordeal. It was critical to clean the cages daily, and their litter pans were cleaned as soon as they used them to prevent reinfecting themselves. All of the rugs, furniture and scratching posts were shampooed and steam cleaned. Old toys were discarded. We ended up switching vets, which actually worked out well. The girls were on metronitazole for 2 weeks straight, and that final long dose seemed to rid them of the Giardia (FINALLY!!!) They were treated with tylosin suspension for the cryptosporidium, and they were on that for over 2 months. Finally we just stopped it for fear it was actually causing the continued diarrhea. Also, they needed to be off all drugs before we were able to re test them again. That did it, the diarrhea stopped. They also had tapeworm that was very stubborn to rid....took 3 doses as well as 2 fumigations of our home. The girls are now on Bravecto flea treatment for the past 3 months and we have no sign of fleas or flea dirt anywhere. I check them regularly. Good luck with your crisis. It can take a while to beat it, but stay persistent...don't give up on your babies. How many do you have? Indoor only? Are you able to keep them apart? That was hard for me because the 3 of them are so stuck to one another, but it was necessary. I wish you the best.