I Can't Believe I'm Back With Another Issue - Colitis From Metacam!

drelocks

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So this all started when Cashew received metacam for his sprained food. 2 weeks later, the straining to poop, runny poop, etc. started. Saw 2 vets (our same clinic, but these aren't who we normally see) who did abdominal x-rays, he had his anal glands expressed and still in and out sporadically with diarrhea.

Today he went into litter and I literally saw just a big blob of clear mucous slide right out of his butt. So back to vet!

Our normal vet today read his history and said he was kind of upset that everyone was treating the end results of his diarrhea (anal gland), but no one seemed to address his diarrhea. He couldn't believe no one tried him on a dose of flagyl. Vet said this is most likely colitis caused by his doses of metacam. Cashew had a round of stress related colitis 2 years ago and flagyl fixed it almost immediately.

So he sent us home with liquid flagyl.

Well, I'm sure it would work if my cat didn't make himself throw up after it!!! I called the vet and he said not to give it to him again until tomorrow, that all the stress of today may have partly caused the vomitting of the meds.

I think it's because it tastes so bad. Cashew is almost impossible to pill, normally he takes liquid meds fine. I should say vet said other than this, he is super healthy, he hasn't lost any weight and i'm shocked!

Any ideas? My stomach is in knots. He ate, played and is now sleeping. He won't start the poop dance until tomorrow probably. I'm so afraid he won't take the flagyl and then what do we do???
 
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LTS3

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Flagyl has a nasty bitter taste cant's hate. It doesn't matter if you use pills or liquids. Have you tried Pill Pockets or something similar for pills in the past? That would mask some of the taste.

You can ask the vet about compounding the Flagyl into something like a flavored chew treat or a transdermal gel. A local compounding pharmacy can do this.

Good rule of thumb: if you give medicine and most of it doesn't get into the cat or the cat throws up afterwards, do not give any more medicine. You don't want to risk an OD. Wait until the next dosage time to give the prescribed amount of medicine.
 
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drelocks

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Flagyl has a nasty bitter taste cant's hate. It doesn't matter if you use pills or liquids. Have you tried Pill Pockets or something similar for pills in the past? That would mask some of the taste.

You can ask the vet about compounding the Flagyl into something like a flavored chew treat or a transdermal gel. A local compounding pharmacy can do this.

Good rule of thumb: if you give medicine and most of it doesn't get into the cat or the cat throws up afterwards, do not give any more medicine. You don't want to risk an OD. Wait until the next dosage time to give the prescribed amount of medicine.
He is sooo hard to pill. Even the vet says to give liquid medicine whenever possible.

I knew not to give him another dose. I'm just upset because I want him to get better and he's vomiting up the med. I mean we get it in his mouth and not two minutes later, he throws up his stomach contents! I think he makes himself, if that's possible. Or he has a crazy gag reflex.

If he does it again, I'll call vet and see our options.

I'm just getting scared I guess.
 

silkenpaw

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Don’t stress out! Remember, you can’t do your cat any good unless you are well yourself. Go on Youtube and watch videos on how to medicate a cat. I’m sure you’ll get a lot of good ideas. Good luck and keep us updated, please.
 
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drelocks

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Don’t stress out! Remember, you can’t do your cat any good unless you are well yourself. Go on Youtube and watch videos on how to medicate a cat. I’m sure you’ll get a lot of good ideas. Good luck and keep us updated, please.
I can get him to take it, I can't get him to keep it down! :)

Are there alternative to Flagyl does anyone know?
 

denice

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Try cutting up the pill and putting it in an empty gel cap. You can get them at many pharmacies. My vet actually did that for me, I got the medicine already in gel caps. I think it is probably the taste that is causing this.
 

darg

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You stated that Cashew took a course of metronidazole (Flagyl) 2 years ago. Was he given the same form of the drug this time as well?

My cat was on a 2x per week metronidazole maintenance dose for many years. I crushed the pills and placed the doses into the smallest gel caps and used a Kruuse piller to administer them. Maybe an option if you cant get him to accept the liquid. Perhaps, discuss this with your vet if you have more troubles.

Metronidazole is extremely bitter. But there is another form of it, metronidazole benzoate. This does not have the bitter taste. My vet uses this form of the drug compounded into a liquid suspension. My cat took this form of the drug without any issues when he was being treated for flare ups.

That said, the benzoate form may be what your vet has sent you home with. With regular metronidazole, I would expect your cat to object right off the bat by pulling away and drooling and foaming as he tries to spit out the bitter drug as soon as you administer it. I wouldn't expect him to take it and then throw it up a few minutes later. But anything is possible.

If he still wont accept the medicine after a day, maybe ask your vet about whether he gave you the non/less bitter benzoate form of the medicine.
 
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drelocks

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So he just had his second flagyl dose! First dose this morning - still having some poop issues. Had second dose about 10 minutes ago, currently cleaning himself in cat tree. I sure hope it works soon, I feel so bad for him.

Here is our little pooper - Cashew, in front. That's Walnut in the back!

67258117_2480519045516236_3373672273859837952_n.jpg
 
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drelocks

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Any ideas on how long flagyl takes to work? He started yesterday morning, just had 4th dose (7-10 day prescription). He did have formed poops this morning, but just now he had a bit of diarrhea. He's not in and out of litter anymore, but just wondering when we might see some real improvement?
 
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