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So I have posted about this before, but it I am growing increasingly frustrated with the response from any vet I take Richard to. Richard is a 7 month old male kitten. He has a history of URIs and taking antibiotics. He was finally diagnosed with Chlamydophila Felis and treated with doxycylcine for 4 weeks. He has been off the Doxycycline for a few weeks now and I wanted to give his gut some time to reset. The vet saw him last week for his pre-op bloodwork and physical exam prior to getting neutered. He said Richard seems perfectly healthy aside from the diarrhea. With that being said, he wants to pump Richard full of anitbiotics (Tylosin Powder) to resolve a 4 month long case of diarrhea. 1 week in and Richard is permanently traumatized, as any cat would be after using a pill gun and large capsule being forced down his throat. This is the only way I could manage to administer the drug without injury to myself. My problem is I fear he is being traumatized at the mercy of a drug that isn't going to treat the issue. It has not helped yet and I stopped a few days ago because I don't want my cat to be afraid of me when normally he follows me around the house. He has never tested positive for anything via a fecal exam and he was tested for giardia twice and both times it came back negative. The other cats in the household (4 in total) seem to have no problem producing solid stool including a 14 week old kitten who, I'd imagine, should be overwhelmed by intestinal parasites if another one of my cats had them. My next step to take would be a Fecal PCR panel which gets sent out to a lab and is far more sensitive to certain organisms. it costs $250 and between that and all the other food changes recently I am up to my arms in cat related expenses this month. So between the numerous courses of antibiotics and the food changes, I think Richard's gut is pretty much in peril. I am open to any and all suggestions. The vet said this is not urgent. Richard plays all day long, eats 4 meals a day and you would not know anything was wrong with him unless you listened to him use the litter box. His growth is on track and he weighs about 11 pounds but is still very lean and has a long body. Very athletic and his coat is shiny and radiant.
I am considering getting him off Fancy Feast entirely and feeding him Wellness and Freeze-Dried Raw Nuggets by Primal. Mixing in Nexabiotic seems like a good idea too as his gut flora is most likely depleted. I just don't know if a fecal PCR test is going to give us the answer we want and given his health aside from the loose stools, I hesitate to panic. IBD? Food sensitivity? Something WAY worse?
I am considering getting him off Fancy Feast entirely and feeding him Wellness and Freeze-Dried Raw Nuggets by Primal. Mixing in Nexabiotic seems like a good idea too as his gut flora is most likely depleted. I just don't know if a fecal PCR test is going to give us the answer we want and given his health aside from the loose stools, I hesitate to panic. IBD? Food sensitivity? Something WAY worse?