My cat tested positive for Giardia, in addition to tapeworm. They treated the tapeworm in the hospital with one course of medication. But the Giardia diagnosis had to be confirmed by lab. When the vet called me with the diagnosis he wants me to put her on Metronidazole AND Pancure - together. In addition, he suggests that the other cats in the house need to be treated, even though they have no symptoms. I think this is very aggressive threapy. I read up on Giardia, and it is usually not serious, except in very old cats or kittens. It is also very stubborn, and hard to get rid of for good. My cats are young and (otherwise) healthy animals, between 1-3 years old. They get a high quality diet. I am very tempted to avoid treatment with these nasty drugs - and let well enough alone. Am I being unwise??
-
Too many ads? Join our community of cat lovers now to reduce ads by 90%! Click here to join for free!
Is it worth treating asymptomatic Giardia?
- Thread starter presto
- Start Date
I found out something interesting about Giardia from a cat specialist one time. I had adopted 2 kittens to a friend in another state, and when she moved them there, they almost immediately developed digestive issues and were diagnosed with giardia. Apparently, giardia exists in nearly every part of the world, most people/pets are exposed to it, but because our bodies adapt to the giardia in our own area, most show no signs of it. It is not until you move a cat, particularly if they have a lowered immunity (the kittens were orphaned at a very early age), that the new strain of giardia will affect them. When we adopted a third kitten to the same friend a year later (separated from its mom too early), that kitten also got giardia almost immediately. Giardia is in most water systems across the country.
What I learned from this is that most cats will have exposure to giardia and most will have no issues with it because their healthy immune systems can fight it off. This explains your vets comments about hard to get rid of for good. If your cat has symptoms, then she does need the medications. The question is how severe those symptoms are and how long it will take the lab to confirm the results of the test. If this were me, if she is having issues, I'd start the treatment now and monitor the other cats for illness. You might have another discussion with your vet on the topic to see if you really need to treat everyone. But this should raise a red flag about the girl showing symptoms. If you haven't moved or changed your source of water, is there something else going on that is lowering her immunity right now?
What I learned from this is that most cats will have exposure to giardia and most will have no issues with it because their healthy immune systems can fight it off. This explains your vets comments about hard to get rid of for good. If your cat has symptoms, then she does need the medications. The question is how severe those symptoms are and how long it will take the lab to confirm the results of the test. If this were me, if she is having issues, I'd start the treatment now and monitor the other cats for illness. You might have another discussion with your vet on the topic to see if you really need to treat everyone. But this should raise a red flag about the girl showing symptoms. If you haven't moved or changed your source of water, is there something else going on that is lowering her immunity right now?
- Thread Starter Thread Starter
- #3
Thanks, MomOfMany - that sort of confirms what I was getting at. No, I haven't moved, and the only cat that developed GI symptoms was takin in and treated. They discovered tape worm. They found both eggs and a few adults in her colon. She was treated with a single dose of Donatal (dewormer), and an IV of fluids and electrolites. A stool sample was taken, but she was discharged before the fecal sample came in. The sample was positive for Giardia (no surprise). She is doing very well now, and I don't like these strong neurotoxic drugs like Metronidazole. So, I've decied to keep a close eye on them, unless symptoms arise.
I guess my main question was, since the Giardia is likely to keep recurring, does it make a whole lot of sense to keep medicating young, otherwise healthy cats?
I guess my main question was, since the Giardia is likely to keep recurring, does it make a whole lot of sense to keep medicating young, otherwise healthy cats?
IMO, it doesn't make a lot of sense, but I say that with reservation. If your vet is pushing for you to do this, they know your situation better than I do, and I will never question another person's vet. You, on the other hand can question them.
Hello,
I read your posts about Giardia. I have 9 cats all pedigree, 3 British Shorthair and 6 Burmese.
I've encountered Giardia twice now. The first time when I brought a new Burmese kitten into the mix and he'd was already infected by it, he had the most foul smelling flatulance from the moment he got in the car, I had to treat all the cats, the second time exactly the same, the new kitten arrived and presented with Campylobacter, again I had to treat all the cats. When his stool specimen returned clear but found he'd picked up Giardia. The reason to treat all the cats is simple, it's a zoonotic ( meaning it can infect humans too, actually it's true of both infections) secondly it's transferred via the oral faecal route. Thirdly the cysts fron Giardia stick to the cats paws and fur, so therefore not only are cats scrupulously clean and groom ( it will re-infect the cat) but also cats are sociable and regularly groom each other, so the re- infection just goes round in a circle. So you can see why it's important to treat all the cats, even if they are asymptomatic (show no symptoms). The cats should also be shampooed I personally shampooed them on days 3 and 5 of their 5 day course of Panacur suspension. I hated doing it the washing and medication of them as they don't understand it was for their own good. My reasoning behind the cat washing was I ( I'm an Anaesthetic Nurse and have a little knowledge) was by day 3 any cysts shed May be weakened by the treatment and day 5 to make sure any remaining cysts were throughly washed off the cat. The second time round I decided not to use the Panacur solution as the cats frothed at the mouth with this, the granules to sprinkle on their food was not an option as they go bowl to bowl to eat food left by another cat ( some are more piggy than others) and wouldn't get the correct dose. I asked about Panacur tablets but they've been discontinued, I considered Metrodiazole (Flagyl) but decided I may not be able to cut the tablets into the correct dosage. So ended up treating with Panacur paste, this was just as messy as the Solution and ended up having to put the correct dosage into a syringe and squirt it into their mouths. So yes, it's important to give treatment to ALL cats in your home otherwise you'll have to go and wash your hands throughly every time you handle, pet your kitty's or you'll end up visiting your own doctor to be treated too! And finally you'll have to make sure until their treated you don't let them jump on to the kitchen counter, or if they do you'll have to disinfect it too and bleach isn't the best kind of disinfection for Campylobacter apparently a solution with iodine is the best. I hope I've explained what you needed to know? Also if left untreated your already immune challenged kitten will have malnutrition due to the Giardia. The treatment may sound horrific but it's better to have your home free from these infections espresso ally if you have young children visiting as they love petting cats and then put their hands into their mouths, and these infections are really bad for the old and young.
I read your posts about Giardia. I have 9 cats all pedigree, 3 British Shorthair and 6 Burmese.
I've encountered Giardia twice now. The first time when I brought a new Burmese kitten into the mix and he'd was already infected by it, he had the most foul smelling flatulance from the moment he got in the car, I had to treat all the cats, the second time exactly the same, the new kitten arrived and presented with Campylobacter, again I had to treat all the cats. When his stool specimen returned clear but found he'd picked up Giardia. The reason to treat all the cats is simple, it's a zoonotic ( meaning it can infect humans too, actually it's true of both infections) secondly it's transferred via the oral faecal route. Thirdly the cysts fron Giardia stick to the cats paws and fur, so therefore not only are cats scrupulously clean and groom ( it will re-infect the cat) but also cats are sociable and regularly groom each other, so the re- infection just goes round in a circle. So you can see why it's important to treat all the cats, even if they are asymptomatic (show no symptoms). The cats should also be shampooed I personally shampooed them on days 3 and 5 of their 5 day course of Panacur suspension. I hated doing it the washing and medication of them as they don't understand it was for their own good. My reasoning behind the cat washing was I ( I'm an Anaesthetic Nurse and have a little knowledge) was by day 3 any cysts shed May be weakened by the treatment and day 5 to make sure any remaining cysts were throughly washed off the cat. The second time round I decided not to use the Panacur solution as the cats frothed at the mouth with this, the granules to sprinkle on their food was not an option as they go bowl to bowl to eat food left by another cat ( some are more piggy than others) and wouldn't get the correct dose. I asked about Panacur tablets but they've been discontinued, I considered Metrodiazole (Flagyl) but decided I may not be able to cut the tablets into the correct dosage. So ended up treating with Panacur paste, this was just as messy as the Solution and ended up having to put the correct dosage into a syringe and squirt it into their mouths. So yes, it's important to give treatment to ALL cats in your home otherwise you'll have to go and wash your hands throughly every time you handle, pet your kitty's or you'll end up visiting your own doctor to be treated too! And finally you'll have to make sure until their treated you don't let them jump on to the kitchen counter, or if they do you'll have to disinfect it too and bleach isn't the best kind of disinfection for Campylobacter apparently a solution with iodine is the best. I hope I've explained what you needed to know? Also if left untreated your already immune challenged kitten will have malnutrition due to the Giardia. The treatment may sound horrific but it's better to have your home free from these infections espresso ally if you have young children visiting as they love petting cats and then put their hands into their mouths, and these infections are really bad for the old and young.
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2010
- Messages
- 227
- Purraise
- 173
I dealt with this problem when I first got my two when they were 12 weeks old. I thought I was going nuts washing butts every day. We finally used the Flagyl and it cleared up and we haven't had an episode since - my cats are now six years old. I resorted to crushing the pills and mixing them in a teaspoon or so of liquid yogurt (Danactive) and squirting it in their mouth with a syringe. I am not the best at pilling a cat!
I suggest treating the cats. While is can sometimes take more than 1 round of medication to treat, once it's gone, it's gone. They shouldn't have reoccurring bouts of it (unless they are outside and are re-exposed to it.)
