Kitten with Tritrichomonas

[carrottopcurls]

Does anyone have experience with a kitten/cat having Tritrichomonas? Mine was just diagnosed via PCR test along with clostridium and coronavirus. He is 17 weeks old and a ragdoll. I've done some research but need some advice on how to manage. I also have a senior 14yr old ragdoll cat that isn't in the best of health that has been exposed to unfortunately, so I'm trying to juggle the two with the kitten being in isolation.

Thank you in advance!

 

[stephanietx]

First of all, I'm sorry you're having to go through this with your kitty. I've not walked this path before, but what does the vet recommend for treatment? It seems like ronidazole is the best medication that treats it. You can find more info in this thread: Need advice about Ronidazole PLEASE!!

Here's another helpful article from Texas A&M:Fecal PCR test for Tritrichomonas foetus - Gastrointestinal Laboratory

This thread from a cattery may also be helpful. Tritrichomonas Foetus: Our Cattery's Experience

This is the search I did here on this site for Tri-Trich threads. Most are a combination, but you might find more helpful links. Search Results for Query: tritrichomonas

 

[carrottopcurls]

First of all, I'm sorry you're having to go through this with your kitty. I've not walked this path before, but what does the vet recommend for treatment? It seems like ronidazole is the best medication that treats it. You can find more info in this thread: Need advice about Ronidazole PLEASE!!

Here's another helpful article from Texas A&M:Fecal PCR test for Tritrichomonas foetus - Gastrointestinal Laboratory

This thread from a cattery may also be helpful. Tritrichomonas Foetus: Our Cattery's Experience

This is the search I did here on this site for Tri-Trich threads. Most are a combination, but you might find more helpful links. Search Results for Query: tritrichomonas

Thank you so much stephanietx! The information you gave me was super helpful! Some of it I have already found already and some of it was new, so I appreciate your post and help!! I'd love to hear from some current members and their experiences, but there doesn't seem to be any recents posts anywhere. I have a feeling it goes undiagnosed in many cases and then it resolves spontaneously as it does in 88% of the cases. My challenge with my kitten is that I have another senior kitty and trying to isolate the kitten is challenging. I don't want him to spent hours by himself. Plus, I want to prevent reinfection which is key and unfortunately, easy to have happen if the right steps aren't taken. I'd love to hear how others did it.

And yes, I will be treating my kitten with Ronidazole.

Anyhow, thanks! I'll do more searching!

 

[She's a witch]

In case you haven’t found this resource, it’s by far the best info there is about Tritrichomonas foetus:
https://cvm.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ownersguide-to-feline-t-foetus.pdf

It’s difficult to get rid off and treat, so hopefully you’ll be successful! And if not, remember that in most cats, the symptoms stop when cats reach 2yo so it will eventually stop regardless. Because of that, and because the treatment in the US is expensive and with potential side effect, some vets these days recommend not treating cats in which there are no serious issues like nutritional deficiencies.

If you go the ronidazole path, I’d recommend using a very good, potent probiotics (eg. Visbiome or/ and Adored Beast) after ronidazole treatment as these antibiotics can really mess with intestinal flora causing long lasting consequences (there are theories that IBD is caused by gut dysbiosis). I’d also add sacharomyces boulardi during the treatment as it will hopefully firm the poops (yeast probiotics, so it won’t be wiped out by antibiotics).
And please let the breeder know, my friend had to close her catery because of this nasty thing and it breaks my heart that other breeders continue breeding knowing they have Tritrichomonas

 

[carrottopcurls]

In case you haven’t found this resource, it’s by far the best info there is about Tritrichomonas foetus:
https://cvm.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ownersguide-to-feline-t-foetus.pdf

It’s difficult to get rid off and treat, so hopefully you’ll be successful! And if not, remember that in most cats, the symptoms stop when cats reach 2yo so it will eventually stop regardless. Because of that, and because the treatment in the US is expensive and with potential side effect, some vets these days recommend not treating cats in which there are no serious issues like nutritional deficiencies.

If you go the ronidazole path, I’d recommend using a very good, potent probiotics (eg. Visbiome or/ and Adored Beast) after ronidazole treatment as these antibiotics can really mess with intestinal flora causing long lasting consequences (there are theories that IBD is caused by gut dysbiosis). I’d also add sacharomyces boulardi during the treatment as it will hopefully firm the poops (yeast probiotics, so it won’t be wiped out by antibiotics).
And please let the breeder know, my friend had to close her catery because of this nasty thing and it breaks my heart that other breeders continue breeding knowing they have Tritrichomonas

Thanks so much She's a witch! I do have that guide from Dr. Gookin and have read it a thousand times! lol!

All of this is especially overwhelming since I have another cat in our home. I'm trying to determine if there is a way for kitten to have time outside of our bedroom since having him confined 24/7 is making me and kitten a bit crazy! I can't really leave him for hours on end since he is young and needs exercise and interaction so he bonds and learns from me. My senior sleeps a lot so I was wondering if I could allow kitten to be out of his room while I confine senior. Of course that wouldn't involve any litter box sharing or interaction of the two. And I scoop the litter ASAP after kitten so there is zero chance of it getting on his paws (I dont even allow him to cover his poo up). I just wasn't sure if the kitten grooming himself (including butt grooming) and then licking his fur and laying on the couch/carpet would drop parasites. Would I need to wait over an hour for them to die off before I let senior cat out? Or is this overkill and as long as cat and kitten aren't sharing litter boxes and playing/sleeping together. The whole fact that it may already have been transmitted to my senior cat is another issue that I have to deal with and I will most likely be getting him tested (which can be tricky too). I just want to know if there is a way for them to share common space without them actually ever being together during this time. I dont know how I'll manage this long term if the treatment doesnt work.

Also, any recommendation on food? My kitten is on what the breeder started him on and I'm trying not to change things much since my kitten is only having two stools a day (albeit with some small amount of blood at times) that are soft serve consistency. He is on Orijen Cat and Kitten and also gets a small can of Tiki Cat shredded chicken with Fortiflora (at the moment). I do have Hills I/D and have started giving him a tiny bit of dry, but last week he woke up during the night and vomited twice and had two bouts of diarrhea, so I stopped it and gave it a week and am just trying a super small amount added to his dry food he has. In short, is it that they need more WET or more DRY food? I seem to see conflicting info on this. I know in the real world wet is always better, but this isn't the real world at all! lol!

Thanks so much for the probiotic recommendations! I'll be getting those asap.

I dont think I could not try RDZ since my kitten has loose stools with blood. Doesn't having colitis negatively affect him? If I didnt treat him, naturally he couldn't be around my senior cat ever nor could I ever get another cat, I assume? What creates a potentially better situation for less chance of my kitten having IBD/IBS as an adult? Treating (do the meds cause issues down the line) or not treating (he will always have these bugs in him waxing and waning)?

And yes, I have been in contact with his breeder and she didnt seem to be aware that the kitten was having any issues when he left her cattery. All of this seems to be a huge shock to her as well. She told me she will be testing her male and female (that is all she has, it is a small cattery). Honestly, I love this little guy, but I have spent years dealing with my senior having IBD/IBS and I was looking so forward to having a healthy kitten (mentally and financially). I've deeply considered asking her to take him back but she hasn't offered and I'm certain she doesnt want to deal with this in her cattery at all. I have a feeling she would tell me no anyhow. It really is an unfortunate situation and I just can't believe this is happening. Horrible to think that some breeders continue to breed knowing this is an issue, just horrible.

 

[jamie shermen]

Thanks so much She's a witch! I do have that guide from Dr. Gookin and have read it a thousand times! lol!

All of this is especially overwhelming since I have another cat in our home. I'm trying to determine if there is a way for kitten to have time outside of our bedroom since having him confined 24/7 is making me and kitten a bit crazy! I can't really leave him for hours on end since he is young and needs exercise and interaction so he bonds and learns from me. My senior sleeps a lot so I was wondering if I could allow kitten to be out of his room while I confine senior. Of course that wouldn't involve any litter box sharing or interaction of the two. And I scoop the litter ASAP after kitten so there is zero chance of it getting on his paws (I dont even allow him to cover his poo up). I just wasn't sure if the kitten grooming himself (including butt grooming) and then licking his fur and laying on the couch/carpet would drop parasites. Would I need to wait over an hour for them to die off before I let senior cat out? Or is this overkill and as long as cat and kitten aren't sharing litter boxes and playing/sleeping together. The whole fact that it may already have been transmitted to my senior cat is another issue that I have to deal with and I will most likely be getting him tested (which can be tricky too). I just want to know if there is a way for them to share common space without them actually ever being together during this time. I dont know how I'll manage this long term if the treatment doesnt work.

Also, any recommendation on food? My kitten is on what the breeder started him on and I'm trying not to change things much since my kitten is only having two stools a day (albeit with some small amount of blood at times) that are soft serve consistency. He is on Orijen Cat and Kitten and also gets a small can of Tiki Cat shredded chicken with Fortiflora (at the moment). I do have Hills I/D and have started giving him a tiny bit of dry, but last week he woke up during the night and vomited twice and had two bouts of diarrhea, so I stopped it and gave it a week and am just trying a super small amount added to his dry food he has. In short, is it that they need more WET or more DRY food? I seem to see conflicting info on this. I know in the real world wet is always better, but this isn't the real world at all! lol!

Thanks so much for the probiotic recommendations! I'll be getting those asap.

I dont think I could not try RDZ since my kitten has loose stools with blood. Doesn't having colitis negatively affect him? If I didnt treat him, naturally he couldn't be around my senior cat ever nor could I ever get another cat, I assume? What creates a potentially better situation for less chance of my kitten having IBD/IBS as an adult? Treating (do the meds cause issues down the line) or not treating (he will always have these bugs in him waxing and waning)?

And yes, I have been in contact with his breeder and she didnt seem to be aware that the kitten was having any issues when he left her cattery. All of this seems to be a huge shock to her as well. She told me she will be testing her male and female (that is all she has, it is a small cattery). Honestly, I love this little guy, but I have spent years dealing with my senior having IBD/IBS and I was looking so forward to having a healthy kitten (mentally and financially). I've deeply considered asking her to take him back but she hasn't offered and I'm certain she doesnt want to deal with this in her cattery at all. I have a feeling she would tell me no anyhow. It really is an unfortunate situation and I just can't believe this is happening. Horrible to think that some breeders continue to breed knowing this is an issue, just horrible.

Hello, may I know if your cat has bloody stool and mucus? My cat was on Ronidozole twice but the diaherra just came back only a few days after the treatment has stopped.
I kind of dont know what.to do. He is on RC GI. Any recommdation on what kind of diet or which brand I can try?

 

[Pumpkin mommy]

Hello, may I know if your cat has bloody stool and mucus? My cat was on Ronidozole twice but the diaherra just came back only a few days after the treatment has stopped.
I kind of dont know what.to do. He is on RC GI. Any recommdation on what kind of diet or which brand I can try?

 

[Pumpkin mommy]

Hello everybody, I just want to share our story because I know feline tritrichomonaes may sound scary. It seems we beat it with great results as far. I adopted Pumpkin 2 yr old Persian and she had terrible smelly diarrhea, we ran tests and she had that parasite. We went through 14 day treatment of liquid ronidazole once a day, 30 mg/kg I believe. I was super cautious and watching for side effects. No side effects at all, she stayed alert and playful. I’d put syringe in her mouth and squeeze it right away, then immediately give her breakfast - tricky to do but doable. She had separate litter box from another cat in separate bathroom, I was cleaning it each time after she went.. lysol wipe everything.. lots of work but it’s worth it! She still had semi soft stool after the treatment one week later, but the test for TF showed negative, yay! After research I put her on Hill’s Science diet sensitive stomach and skin dry and wet food 50/50. Now one month later stool is great, no smell. Dry has probiotic in it, no need to add extra. I’m writing this because I had hard time trying to find information and it was scary but I wanted to share this so may be it will help some other cat parents

 

[mwhite]

Does anyone have experience with a kitten/cat having Tritrichomonas? Mine was just diagnosed via PCR test along with clostridium and coronavirus. He is 17 weeks old and a ragdoll. I've done some research but need some advice on how to manage. I also have a senior 14yr old ragdoll cat that isn't in the best of health that has been exposed to unfortunately, so I'm trying to juggle the two with the kitten being in isolation.

Thank you in advance!

Hi,

I am in a similar situation. New kitten positive and a senior cat. How has this been for you?

 

[fionasmom]

OP has not been back in almost two years, so I doubt that you will get a reply.