How long does it take for Metronidazole to work?

[pixies ma]

Feral Minou is on day 4 of 7 of his treatment of Metronidazole. The vet prescribed it without seeing him (after a negative stool test) because he was still having watery smelly stools regardless of the Revolution, fenbendazole, and bland diet i gave him for a couple days. The vet, on instinct, went for Metro thinking he might have giardia or whatever else that causes IBS.  Even though i had not seen him poop the past few days cause he spends most of his days outside, I thought he was doing better yesterday cause he ate for two. His appetite is less this morning and he went down the yard meowing so i followed. Sure enough, he produced a watery stool.
Shouldn't it be working by now?
He eats Taste of the wild kibble and Wellness wet here, but of course i can never know if he eats elsewhere or what. For sure he did not yesterday cause he ate twice the daily recommendation right here under my nose.
When Pixie was a kitten and very ill with parasites, she got firm stools within 2 days of being on Metro, so i was hoping it would be the same for him.
What are your experiences? I called the vet's office and the tech told me to bring him in tomorrow if he still has runny stools. But i can't do that as i can"t handle him and put him in a carrier.
For those of you who don"t know our story, Minou is a 4 year old FIV+ feral i took under my care a couple months ago. The only time i have witnessed a normal stool with him was the night after he got TNRed and i kept him inside for a night. That was one month ago. All the other stools i have seen were diarrhea.
 

 

[bellel]

My Tater Tot has IBD. It took a couple of weeks to least to get him to have firmer poops. Is your cat on a probiotic? That will help too.

 

[pixies ma]

Tater Tot is such a great name.
I have given him some Florentero a couple weeks ago, but then i discovered there are already probiotics in his kibble (Taste of the wild) so i stopped in order for him not to get too much.
He's supposed to be on Metro for a week only. Wondering if the diarrheas are a side effect or the meds are simply not working.
Also, i have read on here that many give it for a month, and some long term. I hope i wont have to give him those pills for that long cause it's a struggle....

 

[bellel]

Maybe some slippery elm bark? I've heard good things about it but never tried it myself. Many with IBD kitties use it.

 

[bellel]

Tater Tot was given his name by the people who rescued him. He was only 2 weeks old and tiny. I thought it was such a cute name that I had to keep it.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

It's possible he's got something that even Metro isn't going to "fix".  Did they run a PCR test on him?  That one has to be sent to an outside lab for testing (still using fecal matter I believe) and it tests for things like T-Foetus. 

As to stopping the probiotic because there is SOME in his food already, I would start it back up again.  The amount in his food isn't nearly enough, IMHO, to do as much good as a separate one.  Even giving him a sachet of Fortiflora daily might help, but I would recommend something like Nexabiotic, if you can.  Here, maybe this thread will help  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/305535/long-term-diarrhea-fecal-incontinence

 

[pixies ma]

Maybe some slippery elm bark? I've heard good things about it but never tried it myself. Many with IBD kitties use it.

I remember trying to find that for my dog a couple years ago but could not find anywhere other than amazon. Worth checking out again.

 

[pixies ma]

 
It's possible he's got something that even Metro isn't going to "fix".  Did they run a PCR test on him?  That one has to be sent to an outside lab for testing (still using fecal matter I believe) and it tests for things like T-Foetus. 

As to stopping the probiotic because there is SOME in his food already, I would start it back up again.  The amount in his food isn't nearly enough, IMHO, to do as much good as a separate one.  Even giving him a sachet of Fortiflora daily might help, but I would recommend something like Nexabiotic, if you can.  Here, maybe this thread will help  http://www.thecatsite.com/t/305535/long-term-diarrhea-fecal-incontinence

No PCR, just the regular stool sample testing, which came out neg.
I'll talk to me vet tomorrow to see what she thinks, and will have the PCR done if she deems it necessary.
On the bag, it says TOTW kibble contains a minimum of 220 000 probiotics. I already got another tube of Florentero yesterday so i'll stick with that. Got to think about money and how to pay for a possible PCR. I know they are expensive.
Not sure if i should try giving him pumpkin or not? Doesn't pumpkin cause loose stools?
He has two diarrheas yesterday and i noticed this morning how weak and a little out of balance he was a hour after taking his Metro. I'm starting to wonder if it's not the meds making him sicker. He eats and drinks well today so far, but maybe the diarrhea is a side effect? 

 

[pixies ma]

Forgot to say, he is on Revolution and has had his 5 days treatment of fenbendazole last week. All that, with the Metro, does not kill T foetus?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

 
Forgot to say, he is on Revolution and has had his 5 days treatment of fenbendazole last week. All that, with the Metro, does not kill T foetus?

No, T-Foetus takes a very special antibiotic, one that you have to be careful with yourself when administering. 

Yes, meds, can cause diarrhea.  Sometimes the cure is worse than the problem, at first anyway.  And you could definitely give pumpkin a try.  It works for both diarrhea AND constipation.  Weird, huh?  But if they are constipated, it doesn't cause lose stool, it really just helps them to expel the stool because of the type of fiber it is. 

 

[pixies ma]

 
No, T-Foetus takes a very special antibiotic, one that you have to be careful with yourself when administering. 

Yes, meds, can cause diarrhea.  Sometimes the cure is worse than the problem, at first anyway.  And you could definitely give pumpkin a try.  It works for both diarrhea AND constipation.  Weird, huh?  But if they are constipated, it doesn't cause lose stool, it really just helps them to expel the stool because of the type of fiber it is. 

Good grief! I hope it doesn't get to that point.
I will get pumpkin tomorrow for sure. Any idea of the quantity to give to an average cat daily?

 

[catamountgurl]

Try giving goats milk. It has natural probiotics and helps with many belly issues. You can get a condensed can in the baking section (dilute 1:1 with water) there's also a powdered form. I'd start with the canned that's what I do. Good luck

 

[pixies ma]

Try giving goats milk. It has natural probiotics and helps with many belly issues. You can get a condensed can in the baking section (dilute 1:1 with water) there's also a powdered form. I'd start with the canned that's what I do. Good luck

I remember someone else suggested goat milk, but i never found any at my local grocer. For probio, i already got a fresh tube of Florentero. It cost me 25$ so i best use it :\

 

[pixies ma]

Thank you all for your help!
I have found a thread here that said the dosage for pumpkin is 1-3 teaspoons daily.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

 
Thank you all for your help!
I have found a thread here that said the dosage for pumpkin is 1-3 teaspoons daily.

Yes, that what I was going to suggest.  one teas. with each meal, assuming you feed three meals per day

 

BTW, I've never found goats milk in the baking department either.  I HAVE found it in a natural food store though...in the dairy aisle.  None of my cats will drink it though.  They are such oddballs

. 

 

[pixies ma]

I don't get it...I just called the vet's office to tell them he still has the runs (he showed up with a poopy paw this morning, and yuk, licked it clean) and to ask if it's a common side effect and they said no.
The vet said to tell me i'll need to bring him in for an exam, but i'm not sure what they can accomplish by grabbing his belly to see if he's inflammed. If he is, then what? If he isen't, then what?
I can't bring him to the vet, not only cause there is no way he will go in the carrier (it took me a month to trap him for the TNR), but i don't see the point of bringing him there without a complete blood work, which i cannot afford. Gah!
What baffles me is that i noticed how the Metro seems to affect him. He gets so sleepy and a bit wobbly. So why would it be impossible for it to give him the runs when it is cited as a side-effect and so many here seem that have had problems with this side-effect?
I asked about T-foetus, and the vet tech did not know what i was talking about.
Frustrating...I'm doing all i can but can't afford what might really help him. Hopefully the runs will subside with the end of his Metro treatment and probios and pumkpin.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

It is NOT impossible for it to give him diarrhea, and now that you have said he gets so sleepy an a bit wobbly, I'm a bit more concerned, as a rare side effect is metroodazole toxicity, and disorientation and staggering is one of THOSE side effects

What ever happened to giving him the fenbendazole that you mentioned in his other thread?  Did that ever happen? 

 

[pixies ma]

 
It is NOT impossible for it to give him diarrhea, and now that you have said he gets so sleepy an a bit wobbly, I'm a bit more concerned, as a rare side effect is metroodazole toxicity, and disorientation and staggering is one of THOSE side effects

What ever happened to giving him the fenbendazole that you mentioned in his other thread?  Did that ever happen? 

He took fenben for 5 days, and was put on Metro right after cause the runs hadn't stopped. Back to fenben friday, for 3 days.

Yes, he seems to be getting side effects. He didn't seem disoriented but now that you mention it, he has been gone more these days and comes not at the usual hours. He seems distant.The wobbly was not as bad as proper ataxia but i could see his back end kinda swayed more as he moved. Last day tomorrow, and i can't wait for it to be over.

 

[pixies ma]

Sooo...2 days after his last dose of Metro, he still has the runs. I was not able to see till the afternoon, where he yowled and strained and produced a liquid poop with some soft pieces in.
He then licked his bum for a while, like something was bothering him.
He eats very well and is getting quite big. But i'm at a loss as to why the meds did not work. He is back on fenben starting tomorrow, for 3 days. This is the last of the 2 courses that will end the treatment.
He has been getting probiotics since tuesday. He hates pumpkin

 

[bellel]

Fortiflora won't help at all. It doesn't have enough cultures in it (amount and type) to do anything but flavor the food. It's a waste of money. And while Florentero has a variety of cultures, it doesn't state anywhere how much of each culture you are getting. So you may just be giving him a nice tasting paste that doesn't do anything. How much Metro were you giving him? Tater Tot is a 19 pound cat getting 1/4 pill twice a day for 5 days. This is his second flare, so we just started again. After 3 dosings, he's no longer producing butterscotch pudding poop with blood in it. He actually hasn't pooped yet today, which is amazing (he was pooping 4 times a day about 5 minutes after eating). It could be that your cat has food allergies. I would recommend against feeding him taste of the wild because it has fish in it (possible allergen), tomatoes (possible allergen), and blueberries. Cats are carnivores and should be fed a meat-based diet with proper nutrients. They really shouldn't be eating fruit. And what does chicory root do for a cat (is that like a type of fiber)? Have you tried a novel protein based diet or a limited ingredients diet?