Will this nightmare ever end??????

bluerexbear

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I noticed Blue and Rex having runny stools again on Sunday. I called the vet and started the two cats (who had gotten better the first time around) back on the metro. I have given 62.5mg/2x a day for 3 days and the diarrhea is getting WORSE. Just like Bear! It is not getting better...it is getting worse.

I put a call into a new vet today. My vet is telling me to do the same thing over and over expecting different results. I am sick of this! I am not a bottomless pit of money. My husband is already going to divorce me if I keep spending thousands of dollars on vet bills! Rosco takes allergy shots and eats expensive food and just had to have a round of anti-biotics for staph and giardia. The last time Blue got the giardia, I spent over $500 on him alone trying to keep him ALIVE and he spent one day at the vet getting subQ fluids and one trip to the ER vet! Plus all I have gone through with Bear and the cost of all the meds, all the fecals, all the trips an hour EACH WAY to see my vet (did I mention that before? Yeah, he is an hour from me - one way). I can't take this anymore. I just want to cry (scream, break things
)


I think I am going to take everyone off the medicine, give them some Kaopectate for a few days and see what happens!
 

marah1115

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I can't offer you any advice just sympathy.I totally understand where you are coming from and I hope that things get much better for you soon. Sending wellness vibes your way
 

ldg

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Oh sweetie, I'm sorry!


I wonder if they got re-infected from spores in the carpet or something. If that's the case, taking them off the meds really isn't a good idea.
It did seem like a rather virulent strain of giardia.


 

carolina

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Oh dear... I am so sorry... Taking them off the medicine is not the best option IMHO... I am not sure if Giardia develops resistance, but if it does, they were under-medicated the other time, if you remove the medication early this time, you might be playing with fire...
In bad Giardia cases a few rounds of Metro can be necessary, hang in there...
 

farleyv

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Oh you poor thing and your kitties too! I know all too well the feelings of being overwhelmed.

I will pray for your situation to get better......I sooooo understand. Do the best you can and realize that is all you can do.

This has been such a trial.
 

strange_wings

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My understanding is that giardia doesn't truly go away (due to how it can hide), you simply knock back the active infection and keep it in check in most animals.

Has there ever been testing for anything else done? There's a member on here (not sure if they post much anymore) that deals with tritrichomonas foetus and a strain of clostridium in her cats. Neither ever goes away but had to be kept in check.
 

Ms. Freya

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Ugh! Giardia is no fun...and you've had such a rough time with it lately.

Sending lots of anti-giardia your way.
 

hissy

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Kao warning! The new formula is NOT safe for kittens, cats or dogs. You need the older formula which is getting harder and harder to find. Your vet should have some on hand- ask him or her. But DON'T give your kittens anything you buy over the counter as far as Kaopectate is concerned. The new formula has Bismuth subsalicylate which is toxic (very) to cats.
 
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bluerexbear

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The Kaopectate was called Kaolin and was from a vet.

This morning, I took a stool sample to the new vet. She saw no giardia in the direct sample, but sent it off to the lab to be sure. She told me to stop meds for giardia and give them pred. and Pepto every 3rd day and let their enteritis have time to heal. I called about Bear today and that is what they did with him and he is FINE. He hasn't had bad stool in a few days at the shelter and his bottom cleared up! I CRIED! He may get to come home to me afterall!
 

sophielew

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We've used a product called forte flora added to wet food and it has always controlled the loose stool in a day or two!

We purchase it at the vet and always take it along when traveling!
 

midnightbride

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Hi. I understand that it's hard to test for Tritrichomonas and is often confused with Giardia to the untrained eye. The lab has to be experienced with this and know what they're looking for.

My 5 year old Aby was just diagnosed with Trich after having chronic diarrhea for 4 years on and off. The first vet visit they didn't even test for that! He recently had gotten really bad.. like water, and was having accidents. THIS time, the vet just knew what to look for and sure enough that's what it was! Now my other guy tested positive and they are both on Ronizadole. This is the ONLY medication that kills Trich. First cat is done with his 14 day dose today and doing well. His diarrhea has stopped and it is nearly normal. I am waiting to see if it goes away permanently.

This drug has a danger of neurological side effects but no sign of anything in either cat. The vet had me give them both HALF a does for the first two days. Don't know if this made a difference.
 
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