Giardia in multi-cat household

[serpounce3087]

Hi all, so I've got 7 cats in my house and one has symptomatic giardia infection. He's been having diarrhea off and on for several months now. Tests confirmed it's giardia. Vet prescribed fenbendazole for all cats in the house. Seems that didn't work, but I did also switch their dry food so the return of diarrhea could be from that. I'm gonna wait about a week to see if it clears up. Even with the diarrhea he has good appetite, drinks water, and has a ton of energy; he just can't seem to kick the diarrhea.

This isn't my first go with giardia. Three of my cats had it three years ago, and I'm almost wondering if the current one having issues got it from them and they've been asymptomatic carriers for all these years.

Anybody else have a multi-cat household and had this issue? Every website says to disinfect litterboxes but I have eight separate boxes so I feel like keeping them completely sanitized all the time is impossible. I do make sure to scoop them all once a day.

Not sure what more to do other than keep giving treatments. Any practical suggestions or words of encouragement?

 

[Alldara]

serpounce3087

What kind of litter are you using? Could you use a litter liner on your boxes while waiting for this to clear? At least once a week sanitizing the boxes will be helpful.

This is easier with a non-clumping litter. I'm personally using Okocat paper litter but any non-clumping litter will work. Clumping agents frequently stick to the sides and bottom and make sanitizing hard. But with the non-stick I've found that I can sanitize quickly (I do this monthly anyways). I use Lysol disinfecting wipes (biodegradable).

Have you discussed with the vet some probiotics to help rebuild the healthy bacteria?

Washing and sanitizing dishes after each meal and water bowls daily will also help.

If you can isolate who has it, and keep them in a separate room for treatment, that would be ideal. Unfortunately, that might mean trying to keep each cat in a different place until you see who has the diarrhea. You may have to slowly narrow it down if you have a smaller space by putting two to a room.

 

[serpounce3087]

Oh I might try the non-clumping litter. I've tried litter liners before but the cats always rip them to shreds.

I am starting to think this recent bout of diarrhea is from switching their dry food too suddenly. Diarrhea is much runnier than it was from the giardia before I changed food and multiple kitties are having diarrhea when it was just one before... Previously it was just my youngest cat who was having diarrhea issues and was confirmed to have giardia. I just switched their dry food a few days ago and now there's a lot more and a lot runnier in the litter boxes. Keeping an eye on them all to make sure they're staying hydrated.

I might try out the different litter so I can more easily disinfect.