Metronidazole for Diarreah Dialated Pupils

Another thing to look at is his environment. Has anything changed or something new been brought into the house. Have you had any remodeling or construction done. Do you take any medications that you might of dropped one of. Do you have any plants. Are your cleaning supplies outside of a cabinet. All unlikely possibilities but it wouldn't hurt to go through the list to make sure theirs no environmental cause.

Lesliel76 said:

No I'm not a smoker. He is overweight but not anymore than most house cats.

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Being overweight can lead to high blood pressure (hypertension) in cats.  Whether he is "not anymore than most house cats" is not really the issue here.  If he's almost 16 and overweight, he does have the potential of having hypertension.   Yes, it's normally secondary to kidney, thyroid or heart issues, but doesn't have to be. 

If you've already had  complete blood tests run, including the thyroid, and if the blood test also included an SDMA ( which is pretty normal these days), chances are he does NOT have thyroid or kidney disease.  The SDMA is good at early detection of kidney disease.  There is a special blood test they can do for the heart.   Do you know if that did that one?  It's called a ProBNP blood test.  I'm sure they already tested his glucose too, but doesn't hurt double check (for diabetes) @MingsMongols suggested

Also, the Metronidazole can cause neurological issues, which can cause the pupil issue.  It's possible that' even though the drug is out of his system, the effect of the drug is still there.  You've got him on his BP medication now, so that's good, in case it's from the hypertension.  Hopefully this will improve with time,but at least he can apparently still see, which is marvelous!.

Well I was feeling better about everything and now today he has Diarrhea again. Not as bad as before where its leaking but still bad. The vet is closed so I gave him half of the metronidazole thinking I need to try to nip it before it gets bad.

Not sure what is going on with him.

L lesliel76
Many members give their cats pumpkin for both diarrhea and constipation. They use plain unsweetened pumpkin, and not canned pie filling.

I believe the dose is typically 1 teaspoon, and is mixed into the cat's food.

I do not know how quickly this works in calming diarrhea, only that I have read several members reported using pumpkin for digestive issues

If the metronidazole is working while he's on it but then coming back your probably looking at a resistant type of protezoa and not IBS. He might need something stronger like ronidazole. The only issue though is if he's having a dose related reaction to the metronidazole his reactions to it may only get worse if you give him more or a stronger medication.

Well after 900 dollars worth of test I found out he has a clot in his heart. The diarrhea is really a separate issue and not IBS. I went in to get an ultra sound done to see if it was IBS and they found his heart was enlarged.

Thiy did another test and I found out today he had a large clot.

He's not in heart failure but it all doesn't seem good at all. It explains the dialted puplils.

They now have him on a bunch of meds they started today.

He is still himself and doing good but the news has been pretty devestating. The only thing positive I can say is I cough something I guess somewhat early that I would have if it wasn't for the diarrhea.

Oh no. I'm so sorry. What is his prognosis with the medication? Did they put him on a blood thinner? I guess that explains the high blood pressure and the dilated eyes.

They could not give me a firm prognosis. It really depends on the cat but I didn't get the best feeling about. I did read they can do ok for a couple years on meds. He needs to go back in 7 to 10 days for blood pressure and radiographs. Then every 3 to 6 months for echogram I think.

They did give him a blood thinner only they were out of that one which is super upsetting. I ordered online but I prob won't get it till Sat or Monday.

When I left I said isn't this urgent and the girl said if it was the Dr prob would have you go somewhere and get it. That didn't feel reassuring.

This is what he is now to take. They doubled his blood pressure med Amlodipine. The new meds he is now on is Furosemide twice a day, Clopidogrel (blood thinner they didn't have) once a day, and Pimobendan twice a day.

It's a lot and I'm feeling toally overwhelmed.

Call around your compounding pharmacys and see who Carry's it in stock then have them fax a prescription.You shouldn't have to wait if one of the human pharmacys in your area has it. It is alot, and I can totally understand why your overwhelmed. One thing you can do is get a pill organizer and put a timer next to it that goes off when it's time for his meds to help get you in the groove. Or you can have a pharmacy compound all his meds into a liquid chicken flavored formula and give it to him by syringe if he's picky about the pills. Thats what I had done, I drawl all the meds for the week into syringes and then have them in containers by date in the fridge. It's less work and helped me get into the routine.

A few things that your gonna want to keep in mind about his new med regimen until it levels out in his system. The combination he's on is very effective but their are some adverse reactions to watch out for. He should have his blood pressure monitored regularly as hypotension can occur. His potassium levels should be monitored to check for hypokalemia, and he might need a potassium supplement. You should watch out as well for urinary retention.

Thank you Mings. Yes they have advise to monitor the BP and have regular test.

Have you heard of a cat being able to live a good amount of time after finding something like this. Or the clot dissolving or getting smaller? Or does it alway end in bad?

I really don't know. The medication he's on is aggressive. Their not sitting back and saying oh well, they've got him on a strong cocktail of medications. It's meant to prolong his life and attempt to fix the problem. What it will mean for him I can't say. Knowing this though doesn't change that no one knows how long we our are pets have on this Earth. He might even end up outliving you. I know it's not much comfort, but you have a diagnosis and a solid treatment plan. Just take your days as they come and enjoy him.

Thank you I am trying to not be negative but it sucks. Your right though I still have him and he is still doing good.

I am happy to hear they are being agressive. I just need to get that blood thinner asap.

He actually is taking the pills pretty good with a pill pocket and a treat on top which is good bc I travel for work, unfortunately for 2 days next week. I have a friend in the building that does a great job and will come twice a day and has kept my other cat medicated for hypothyroidism. So I feel confident he can do this for my Charlie.

The whole thing is just upsetting I appreciate being able to vent here. Who knows maybe I will have a year or 2 more with him. You never know. Especially since he doesn't show any other signs.

My biggest fear is what can happen and how painful it seems. I am gone for long hours sometimes working 12 hour day or doing something after work. It would kill me if something happened while I wasn't home and couldn't get to him.

It is a very fustrating situation. You started out with some diarrhea and it just snowballed into a nightmare. I'm so sorry this happened to you and your kitty.

Don't worry about him being in pain. If something were to happen, it would be horrible but it would be extremely quick, only a second or two and he'd feel no pain.

If several of his meds can be given at the same time, and you want to give in pill form, you can also try getting empty gel caps and put all of them in ONE gel cap, then you only have to pill once.  Many people do that.  Or there is that route MingsMongols suggest, with compounding into injectables, or even transdermals, if they can be done that way. 

Did the Vet tell you what to look for in case of low Potassium.  That is a worry to  me too, as MingsMongols mentioned, when on Lasix (Furosemide).   If he starts to lose his balance, or appears weak in the legs, hangs his head down, walks on his hocks, gets lethargic, those can be  signs of low potassium and can easily be fixed with potassium pills. 

Thanks MrsGreenJeen I'll watch for that. So far so good but so it's only day one.

I should probably start a new thread but before I do, thought I would throw it out there since you guys have been so helpful. Maybe you might of heard of this.

I stumbled on this website:

http://www.treatcatsbloodclots.com/about-the-treatment.html

It's about enzyme treatment to dissolve the blood clot. I emailed the girl with my info and signed a waiver waiting to hear some more information. The website is more about cats who have already thrown the clot vs just finding one I need the heart.

I did a quick search on this site of some key words but nothing came up. Curious if anyone's has heard of it or tried???

I don't believe it. In fifteen minutes it disolved the clot after being taken orally. Oral medications are the slowest route of administration, taking up to a couple hours as their disolved by the stomach and make their way to the intestines to be absorbed. Theirs no way whatever she gave her cat worked that fast unless it was injected directly into the vein.

Yeah I have no idea I have been reading about it for hours now. Apparently it's an enzyme for humans to help blood flow or something. There is interesting positive information about it but it scares me to do something like that.


Do all cats with a clot in their heart eventually throw it? Is there any hope of it going down and going away? I am wondering if I am just waiting around for a super painful death and if I should euthanize now. The vet said no but the more I read about the pain I am not sure. It says that when the clot throws the cat is in extreme pain.I hate to think that I don't want him to go through it but it also seems like a waste to just put him down if he still ok.

If it throws and moves elsewhere to one of his extremities I imagine that would be painful but you can then have the clot removed. If it moves around his heart and blocks blood flow he'll be dead in a fraction of a second. A cats heart beats at 140 to 220 bpm's. That's 0.27 to 0.47 of a second in-between heart beats, not enough time to feel any pain. Of course best case scenario, the meds work, the blood clot disolves, and he's got some minor irritation from being pilled twice a day.

Yes, best case scenario is that the meds work....that's why the Vet put him on them in the first place.  I would definitely discuss with the Vet  his chances on the meds...chances of the clot dissolving. 

I have heard that it's very painful with they throw a clot in the extremities, but some cat owners have said their cats didn't appear to be in any pain, so you just never know.  Maybe it depends on the size of the clot