When my five month old kitten takes the metro he becomes life less, sits around staring, won't eat. He falls asleep with eyes open, third eyelid showing and only for 30 minutes at a time. He doesn't purr and can't find a comfy spot. The only time he becomes active again is when it is an hour before his next dose. He will start playing and eating again. When we try to administer the medicine he begins to growl aggressively and hide from us. Our vet wants us to continue the medicine and also give him prednisolone .5ml. I wanted to know if this was a normal reaction to the medicine?
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Question about Metronidazole
- Thread starter momochi
- Start Date
You have not told us why he is on metronidazole. It is used to treat diarrhea and is both an antibiotic and an antiprotozoal drug, but it does not agree with all cats or people. Obviously it does not agree with your cat. Depending on the diagnosis, there may be another treatment that doesn't make him miserable.
The yeast-based probiotic called Saccharomyces boulardii (S. boulardii) is often very effective in treating antibiotic resistant bacterial infections such as C. difficile and other clostridia and intestinal inflammation. It's easy to find out more about it - Google it, and also search the many threads here by entering s. boulardii in the search box just under the brown line at the top of the page.
Here is a link about the possible side effects of metronidazole in some cats. If it were my cat, I would definitely try something else because it sounds like he is very sensitive to it.
https://www.vetinfo.com/side-effects-metronidazole.html
The yeast-based probiotic called Saccharomyces boulardii (S. boulardii) is often very effective in treating antibiotic resistant bacterial infections such as C. difficile and other clostridia and intestinal inflammation. It's easy to find out more about it - Google it, and also search the many threads here by entering s. boulardii in the search box just under the brown line at the top of the page.
Here is a link about the possible side effects of metronidazole in some cats. If it were my cat, I would definitely try something else because it sounds like he is very sensitive to it.
https://www.vetinfo.com/side-effects-metronidazole.html
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Also why is the kitten on prednisolone? Is there a diagnosis?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #4
My kitty had REALLY BAD cocci when he was 8 weeks . Hes been underweight at 3lbs-4lbs couldn't get him to gain more. He's had alot of diarrhea and soft stools. We almost lost him twice, so when we saw what the medicine was doing we didn't want to risk losing him and stopped it. Our vet told us to keep giving it to him, but we didn't. We tried s.boulardii and it made his anal glands leak. Thats why he was on the metro. We decided to try freeze dried raw to see if it was a food issue, he has this black gunk around his nose and whiskers that wouldn't go away. So far the raw food is working, he hasn't had diarrhea in a week , the black stuff is going away and he's gaining weight.
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Momochi,
I think you need a new vet, one who is going to take you seriously when you tell them your kitten is reacting to metronidazole. He's far too young to be dealing with medication reactions.
If he still has coccidia, a medication called Albon might be more useful, as long as it wasn't prescribed before/if he had a reaction to that as well. There are other medications to treat diarrhea
Please, never feed raw diets to an ill cat, this is asking for trouble since raw meat has the potential to be contaminated. While he could have a sensitivity to certain ingredients in certain cat foods, that has yet to be discovered/diagnosed, you don't know that was the problem, and he truly needs a properly fortified diet. Raw diets are often either deficient or excessive of vital nutrients, and at 5 months of age, he needs a fortified diet with essential nutrients for growth, development and a stable immune system.
Not sure I understand the "black gunk", but it could be feline acne, food that wasn't groomed off, or a food allergy, all of which your vet should have been able to determine.
Please, get your kitten to a new vet for a new exam, discussion of a proper diet for his age and development, testing to see if the coccidia has resolved, etc. Don't wait, he's been through far too much and his little system is taxed, he can't afford to suffer more diarrhea, weight loss, lethargy etc.
I think you need a new vet, one who is going to take you seriously when you tell them your kitten is reacting to metronidazole. He's far too young to be dealing with medication reactions.
If he still has coccidia, a medication called Albon might be more useful, as long as it wasn't prescribed before/if he had a reaction to that as well. There are other medications to treat diarrhea
Please, never feed raw diets to an ill cat, this is asking for trouble since raw meat has the potential to be contaminated. While he could have a sensitivity to certain ingredients in certain cat foods, that has yet to be discovered/diagnosed, you don't know that was the problem, and he truly needs a properly fortified diet. Raw diets are often either deficient or excessive of vital nutrients, and at 5 months of age, he needs a fortified diet with essential nutrients for growth, development and a stable immune system.
Not sure I understand the "black gunk", but it could be feline acne, food that wasn't groomed off, or a food allergy, all of which your vet should have been able to determine.
Please, get your kitten to a new vet for a new exam, discussion of a proper diet for his age and development, testing to see if the coccidia has resolved, etc. Don't wait, he's been through far too much and his little system is taxed, he can't afford to suffer more diarrhea, weight loss, lethargy etc.
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #7
Update on Mochy's Condition.
We took him to a Feline Clinic and discovered he has colitis, he was given metro in a lower dose and didn't have the same problems. The symptoms he had were due to him getting no nutrients from his meals and he was just starving all the time. On his xray his colon has a very thick lining and is all messed up. Were doing a gastro diet for a few months and tests for salmonella and t.foetus.
We took him to a Feline Clinic and discovered he has colitis, he was given metro in a lower dose and didn't have the same problems. The symptoms he had were due to him getting no nutrients from his meals and he was just starving all the time. On his xray his colon has a very thick lining and is all messed up. Were doing a gastro diet for a few months and tests for salmonella and t.foetus.
