Vets and Vaccinations

[Patti]

I would avoid the FIV personally, but would consider the FeLV if I walked any of my cats outside routinely. If you end up boarding your cats, the facility will let you know what their requirements are, but I doubt there would be any face-to-face contact between strange cats being boarded there.

As for the URI, it is possible Jengo picked something up at the vet's, or just the trauma of going to the vet's triggered a stress response which lowered his immune system causing a flare up of something he already has. For instance, the most common feline viral infection is rhinotracheitis or feline herpes and for 90+ percent of the cats who have it do not shed it but become lifelong carriers. It goes dormant until their immune system is lowered and they have symptoms again. Mycoplasma, a bacterial infection behaves similarly in some cats (and giardia as well, btw). Even in the dormant stage they can pass these types of infections to other cats, so again possible that Biz got the URI from Jengo. In reality there's really no way to know for sure, you just need to treat it and hope that takes care of it for good.

 

[Charley]

Are those things that are typically screened for? It seems Jengo has always been super healthy outside of a random cold maybe once a year. This year it seemed to hit him harder than usual but the vet said to watch him and as long as he was eating, pooping normal and not vomiting they recommended to see if it passes. It did. I'm just wondering if its something I can have tested.

So does giardia ever go away or just go dormant like herpes? He did have it before I got him. My vet said its a common ailment that cats get especially if there are a lot of them and so are worms, in fact they are born with them. The vet said all of this stuff has life cycles and you have to catch it at the right time. Is that true?

I just want to be sure he's being treated properly.

We have eye drops and do another round of panacur this weekend. I cancelled my trip because I need to be here to get him all of his meds. I will say he runs around acting fine. It's just been stressful getting him back to normal. Poor thing switched homes, food, lost his buddies, had to make new friends, had some tape worm, some vaccinations, blood drawn and now the eye drops. Through it all he's been so good.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Giardia is a common ailment simply because it is everywhere. It's not usually gone dormant but it can be in your water source. Your town/city water supply can have giardia in it, and unless it goes above a certain level it does not have to be reported nor treated! So there can be a low level in your water...and a stressed or sick (from some other infection) cat with lowered immune defenses can be susceptible.

I don't believe it is a life cycle issue for treatment. Some cats might need an extended treatment or a repeat treatment. And then you want to make sure they get a probiotic so that their intestinal system is healthy and colonized with good bacteria so that it better resists further infections.

 

[Rafiki]

I just finished treating both of mine for Giardia. We got both cats last year, 2 months apart. Jammu was first and tested negative. When Rafiki was tested a month or so after we got her, she tested positive. I did a bit of research and Los Angeles water was testing high at the time so I switched them to bottled water. Unfortunately we did not retest Jammu and they share a litter box (and just about everything else!). This year, they both tested positive and we think that Jammu got infected about the same time Rafiki did and gave it back to her after her treatment was done. I cannot tell you the joys of treating 2 cats with 2 different liquid medicines!

 

[Rafiki]

To those in the know........what is the best test for Giardia? I know that it can be difficult to spot in a fecal smear as it is dependent on the life cycle of the parasite.

My vet is recommending a fecal at 1 month, 3 months and 6 months. Is there a more accurate test? My vet may be thinking about avoiding a more expensive test but a total of 6 fecals is not going to be cheap either and a major pain to do.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Yes, there is a Giardia snap test that is more accurate than a fecal smear.... and then of course there is the Fecal PCR panel, which I think you can choose to test only for Giardia which would be cheaper...

Fenbendazole (panacur) is imho the better medication. Some vets prefer metronidazole (Flagyl) which I think is because it has soothing properties BUT it does not seem as effective and it's bitter and horrible to give to cats. Fenbendazole can be dosed in a tasteless powder and mixed into food...

 

[WitchyWoman]

To those in the know........what is the best test for Giardia? I know that it can be difficult to spot in a fecal smear as it is dependent on the life cycle of the parasite

ELISA is probably the most accurate test. Here's a description from the lab that my vet sends samples to:

http://www.abaxislabs.com/Menu-Search/Detail/Giardia-Antigen1389

 

[Charley]

Yes, there is a Giardia snap test that is more accurate than a fecal smear.... and then of course there is the Fecal PCR panel, which I think you can choose to test only for Giardia which would be cheaper...

Fenbendazole (panacur) is imho the better medication. Some vets prefer metronidazole (Flagyl) which I think is because it has soothing properties BUT it does not seem as effective and it's bitter and horrible to give to cats. Fenbendazole can be dosed in a tasteless powder and mixed into food...

We were able to get metronidazole crushed into a paste to be applied in the ear.

I have another fecal
Smear coming up so I will do another full pcr panel

 

[Rafiki]

We had both Fenbendazole and metronidazole compounded into liquids. It was nasty stuff. I have never heard of applying it in the ear in a paste.

 

[Charley]

We had both Fenbendazole and metronidazole compounded into liquids. It was nasty stuff. I have never heard of applying it in the ear in a paste.

How did they do with liquid?