Help - kittens have Giardia and Coccidia!

[Poppytime]

After a month of diarrhoea finally found out my two kittens have both these parasites. Great. Got Panacur and Baycox. Just done the 2 days of Baycox and was a nightmare as they hate it, tastes awful, foaming at mouth and spitting it out. Had to burrito them in a blanket to get it in and v stressful. Panacur ongoing but they are suspicious of me mixing it with a lickable treat now and I don’t know if they are even getting the full dose. 2 more days to go. Cleaning litter trays EVERY time they go, hot soapy water - on vets advice. It’s exhausting. The end was in sight BUT I have an older cat. They had no symptoms so vet won’t treat her (told her they share litter trays etc).

And lo and behold she has loose poo this evening. I’m at my wits end tbh. I can’t speak to the vet until Monday which is when the kittens finish their Panacur so she will no doubt reinfect them despite my cleaning regime and the nightmare will start again. Anyone any experience of this? I’m a bit exhausted cleaning up poo, trying to wipe bums and paws and getting scratched, going through £££ of litter, vacuuming, wiping … I love them all dearly but I’m currently in a spiral of envisaging a constant cycle of stressful medicating and poo clean up and feeling quite depressed :(

Cat tax of the stinky ones

Can’t you buy the panacur online and treat your other cat regardless of what the vet says? It surely can’t harm even if there’s no parasites? It’s a standard puppy wormer isn’t it, I certainly have used it for puppies in the past with no confirmed parasites. So I’d imagine the feline version is the same?

I think I might have to do that… I’m not as worried about the coccidia as read its self limiting as their immune systems develop?

No experience of this - but can you segregate the cats? Confine the kittens to one room away from your other cat like you do with a new cat coming in to the house? (Possibly too late)

Just get some Panacur off Amazon and treat all three cats.

I’ve got some arriving Tuesday which is the earliest I just hope it’s not too late … and they are all becoming highly suspicious of treats and I can’t guarantee they will eat the whole meal if I put it in food … aargh - any tips?

Too late I think :( also we are quite open plan downstairs so it’s v hard. I think I just need to treat them all? A bit annoyed at the vet as I could have easily been treating my older cat for a few days now, I asked more than once! Just seemed sensible as they live together, share litter trays etc

I would just give the Panacur directly with syringe - burrito them in a blanket if you have to.

Might have to, although had some success disguising it with breakfast this morning … the burrito can work but it quite stressful and the kittens are surprisingly strong! I worry about hurting them. My older cat is twice the size so that would be interesting !

I had to burrito a 9kg cat once 😂

They are strong but you won’t hurt them - prep the medicine and everything beforehand, burrito, drugs and then let them run 😂

9kg, a furry beast! How cute. I am happy to report we have normal poo! I have a couple more days of treating my older cat and have been fastidious with the litter trays. Let’s hope I’ve kicked this at last. Pray for me!

omg I have just read this! Got two kittens 5 days ago. They are pooping everywhere and it's loose and stinky. They were from rescue so I presumed it was stress but should I be thinking about the vets? We got 1 month pet plan free so we can use that although we didn't insure our last elderly dcat.

Oh that is good news!

And yes, he was massive! He’s now 4.5 kilos but still hates being burritoed 😂

Love your two kittens. Tabbies are the best!! These are 4 months and only just starting to trust us. If we have to burrito them for meds its not going to go down well.

When we had suspected Giardia I carried on treatment for 2 solid weeks with the liquid version. Prior to that it would reoccur because of them washing themselves.

It was a week of litter box chuck out and disinfectant as well. It worked though after 2 prior attempts at getting rid of it.

2 weeks?! I stopped after the 5 days the vet told me :… should I keep going?

@Ivygarlandthey are super cute. Totally get you about not wanting to lose the trust, I was the same but they have forgiven me v quickly! It might not be Giardia - maybe let them settle in for a bit longer first, the stress of moving, possible new food, lots of other reasons for funny tummies

I don’t know but I did 2 x 5 days and then it restarted after a few days 😭 those cysts they shed reinfect them etc.

Was it definitely Giardia? Ours is as we had a test. Argh I was really hoping the 5 days and my litter box cleaning would clear it!

I didn’t test but am 99% sure it was for the panacur to clear it etc.

If it reappears then I recommend a 10 day stint. If you read up about it the cysts can live for a week or so. I did an awful lot of washing too!

It’s exhausting isn’t it?! I’m on constant poo alert ! Ok thanks I’ve just given them some more today so day 6, at least until my older cat has done a 5 day course. It takes over your life a bit doesn’t it?! Never mind work, kids, etc 😂😵‍💫 glad you managed to kick it

Which type of Panacur are you using? I've found that cats hate the paste and liquid but will tolerate the powder mixed into a creamy treat.

I had a kitten with Giardia earlier this year. We treated her with a 2-week stint of Panacur and it hasn't come back since.

It’s the 10% liquid - tbh the kittens don’t notice it too much mixed into their food but they only have 1ml, my adult cat has double that so it’s harder to conceal! She is def suspicious of the taste … - why can’t they find a way to make these things more palatable !

Thank you for the reassurance. I signed them up to the vets today online and within about 10 mins they had called and arranged an appointment 'just to check them over!' so I guess we will see! We've got feliway plug and spray so hopefully that will help them chill. ATM they are refusing to use a litter tray once pooed so even with just a scoop we are going through the cat litter like no one's business. You can get aerosol alcohol which is great for disinfecting surfaces quickly and because it's an aerosol not a spray it should cover better. Do you put a bin bag on the tray for a quick turnaround? That way you should be able to get away with a quick spray instead of washing because only the bin liner will have been touched.
Thank you for all the advice - if they do have it now I know what to do!

I use the liquid, it’s a tiny amount in little kittens and they cooperate okay.