Feline diarrhoea (2)

Re: Feline diarrhoea (2)

Martin Atkinson — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:29:53 GMT

Coronovirus. They'll get better by themselves - eventually.

Re: Feline diarrhoea (2)

Clive Ansell — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:05:00 GMT

Thanks for all your thoughts.

I agree with Kate, I am going to continue with Metronidazole and Fenbendazole for now and monitor the response. This is partly because the owner/carer is not all that reliable and I am not confident about her handling and treating with Ronidazole.

I'm not 100% sure about PCR tests either, I guess they are very sensitive so I'm not sure how significant the findings are?? nothing was found on faecal microscopy.

The case is further complicated by the fact that the owner works at the rescue centre where the cats came from. Staff often bring cats home and take their cats to work, isolation and/or barrier nursing is almost impossible, and advice tends to fall on deaf ears . In addition the rescue centre has about 200 cats and uses more than one veterinary practice. Management and record keeping are, shall we say, less than ideal. Cats often have their names changed and records/medical records are lost, plus often I think the same cat will be presented at different practices.

Re: Feline diarrhoea (2)

Kate Richardson — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 11:05:36 GMT

The problem with these 'diarrhoea panels' is you need to then look at the positives and decide how significant the results are. The only results on here I would consider significant are the Tritrichomonas results and possibly the Giardia result. How likely is it that the cats have ALL of these infections going on at once. FIE likely positive if they have been vaccinated. Coronavirus- common but significance? I had to deal with a kitten recently who had a 3 weeks history of diarhoea and had a faecal sample sent for the same panel. I had never even tested for clostridria perfirngens previously! Similar situation, several positives, and hasn't been very helpful. My feeling is they have all these lovely PCRs available now and the labs are encouraging testing for all and sundry instead of thinking about what is likely to be a cause and testing specifically for it. I'm just not convinced this panel is a useful test and use of the owners funds, but thats just my 2 pence worth

Has a faecal sample been looked at microscopically- Isospora is something I have seen in recurrent diarrhoea cases, however no PCR is offered in this panel for this.....

I agree with your treatment plan of treating all the cats simultaneously with fenbendazole, would possibly go slightly longer though, for 10-14 days, plus the metronidazole, plus diet etc. Given Ronidazole is off licence and has some risks associated, as much to owners as cats, I would probably want to assess response to this treatment first and document T foetus in the other cats as well. T foetus is self limiting, so treatment may not be necessary for all cats so if you can limit use of ronidazole then better to do so. http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/infosheets/tritrichomonas.html

Strict hygiene measures and environmental treatment should also be looked at.

Re: Feline diarrhoea (2)

James Laidlaw — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 10:33:08 GMT

[quote user="james herriot lied"]

[quote user="Stephen Courtney"]

I'm starting to believe that Campy is an incidental finding at best,,,,

[/quote]

Well, at least you believe in something.

I think it's definitely over-blamed.

[/quote]

It's worth mentioning to owners due to zoonotic potential though, and very occasionally may be a problem, but I also think it's not a major cause of clinical disease in pets.

Re: Feline diarrhoea (2)

Andrew Kent — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 21:29:35 GMT

And be aware that if corona virus is present you may get diarrhoea for many months even with resolution of other causes.

Re: Feline diarrhoea (2)

Gerry Henry — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 21:19:23 GMT

Ronidazole, be prepared to treat several times to achieve a cure, start with lower dose.

Re: Feline diarrhoea (2)

Louise6732 — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 20:06:44 GMT

Another +1 for ronidazole, tritrich sounds quite likely, is it small or large intestinal D+? That will give you a better clue re tritrich (Large intest)

Louise

Re: Feline diarrhoea (2)

james herriot lied — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:08:23 GMT

[quote user="Stephen Courtney"]

I'm starting to believe that Campy is an incidental finding at best,,,,

[/quote]

Well, at least you believe in something.

I think it's definitely over-blamed.

Re: Feline diarrhoea (2)

Stephen Courtney — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 19:02:40 GMT

I'm really keen on Purina EN and fortiflora probiotic ( powdered, enteric coated beads of good bugs)

This is going to take ages to come right, so long term combination of diet, and yes would agree ronidazole route also.

I'm starting to believe that Campy is an incidental finding at best,,,,

Re: Feline diarrhoea (2)

Nicola Lawlor — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 18:51:34 GMT

Powdered type probiotics by the bucket load?

Re: Feline diarrhoea (2)

Dagmar Steele — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 17:16:13 GMT

+1 for the ronidazole here. Anyway, whatever she is going to do (and don't forget decontamination of the environment) it'll take her ages to get them back to normal. I've read about clipping long-haired cats with giardia if recurrent infections present, might apply for t.fetus too.

Re: Feline diarrhoea (2)

james herriot lied — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:39:35 GMT

I'd definitely be looking at switching in ronidazole for the metronidazole; speak to the prokolin peeps also, about some work Danielle G-M has been doing on improving outcomes with T Foetus with adjunctive probiotic treatment - it might help more as part of a combo with the ronidazole.

Agree on the panacur; on the other isolates, I'd wait and see.