Tritrichomonas foetus - 5 cats, one household covered in s##t

Re: Tritrichomonas foetus - 5 cats, one household covered in s##t

Rob Davis — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:23:28 GMT

I have also used ronidazole from Nova labs. Cat had had diarrhoea for months, usually improved with metronidazole but never resolved. Tritrichomonas eventually diagnosed in-house (the nurses thought I was very strange getting so excited about looking at cat poo down the microscope...). Ronidazole provided a quick cure with no side effects (though I did ensure I had signed consent for off-license treatment stating potential side-effects). Danielle Gunn-Moore provided me with some excellent information - it would be worth contacting her (I'm afraid I don't have her email address at hand).

Re: Tritrichomonas foetus - 5 cats, one household covered in s##t

Richard Carter — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 18:44:42 GMT

I use metronidazole (Flagyl) bid 7days (owners will hate you by this time), medium acting dexamethazone (Voren) to reduce IBD and usually panacur for good measure to remove possibility of mixed infections/bacterial overgrowth. Tend to do my own examinations so couldn't tell you if PCR negative but seem to respond well. A couple of other things I find help - find out if the kittens have ever touched real earth or if their GIT has developed on sterile prepared food with a litter tray of sterile clay/ sawdust - may need some probiotics - a tray of real earth may help. Also RCW sensitivity if funds extend to this.

Re: Tritrichomonas foetus - 5 cats, one household covered in s##t

Andrew Kent — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:36:16 GMT

I have used Ronidazole on one occasion in a Tritrichomonas cat that was getting rectal prolapses from straining. Got it from Nova Labs as previously mentioned, the downside was the cost, if I remember rightly this was something like £150 for the 2 week course for an average sized cat. So could be costly to treat all 5!

I had no appreciable side effects with the drug on that occasion and the diarrhoea resolved quickly.

Andy

Re: Tritrichomonas foetus - 5 cats, one household covered in s##t

Andrew Mellor — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 16:25:33 GMT

Thank you so much for all that info most appreciated

Re: Tritrichomonas foetus - 5 cats, one household covered in s##t

Vikki Halliday LLB — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 21:41:40 GMT

I'd maybe go with metronidazole and supplement with a good probiotic such as prokolin enterogenic powder. For kittens you should be pretty safe with the Paediatric strength Flagyl.

However if you want to try the ronidazole, this is from the FAb website:

Ronidazole is not licensed for use in cats; it should only be used with caution and with informed, signed, owner consent (see Ronidazole treatment sheet for owners). Initial studies suggested that a dose of 30-50mg/kg once daily for two weeks is capable of both resolving clinical signs and potentially eradicating the T. foetus. However, keeping to the lower end of the dose is advisable (30mg/kg), as is reducing it even further for young kittens, or cats with hepatopathy; (10mg/kg once daily for two weeks). The bitterness of the powder means that it must be placed in capsules prior to administration.

Ronidazole (10% powder preparation) is commonly used to treat trichomoniasis in birds (e.g. pigeons). However, it is not available in this form in the UK, and the consistency of the 10% formulation is difficult to guarantee. Therefore, we have gained permission from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) to use 100% pure chemical grade ronidazole to treat T. foetus infected cats. This is the form that is now used in the USA. In the UK it can be obtained in capsule form from Nova Laboratories, Tel: 0116 223 0099. While the VMD have agreed to our use of this chemical in these cats, they strongly recommend that detailed records are maintained and that no cat is treated without first obtaining informed, signed, owner consent. In addition, we should compile data on all potential adverse effects: send case information on any potential adverse effects to Danielle.Gunn-Moore@ed.ac.uk.

Re: Tritrichomonas foetus - 5 cats, one household covered in s##t

Rosie_Skinner — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:42:52 GMT

Hi Andrew,

at a FAB feline infectious diseases talk I attended last year they said that tritrichomonas foetus often goes away on its own after a while and the diarrhoea can be much improved by feeding a simple highly digestible diet. They said the diarrhoea is rarely more than an inconvenience (probably pretty bad with all those cats!) and is not often associated with significant adverse effects.

If you want to treat with ronidazole, apparently the neuro signs stop when the drug is withdrawn... the notes also say that you may not need to treat all of the affected cats. As for where to get it from, I don't know!

I'm sure someone else will give you a much more helpful answer soon!

Rosie