Giardia Coccidia In Kittens

Giardia is another protozoan infection resulting in soft frothy greasy diarrhea which can be treated with panacur.

Giardia coccidia in kittens. Coccidia is a nasty little single celled organism that causes mucousy diarrhea in kittens and can be treated with the prescription drug ponazuril. One s fecal showed nothing the other s the vet thought she may have seen both giardia and coccidia and felt that with their symptoms it s best to treat them for both. He did a fecal for worms and i didn t think to ask for. Symptoms of coccidiosis appear almost two weeks after the initial infection.

They both had started throwing up and having watery loose stool. The giardia make their way to the small intestines of cats where they can cause a wide range of symptoms. Coccidia are a group of single celled parasites called protozoa. Veterinary attention is needed to ease symptoms and rid the cat of the parasitic infestation.

Kittens who are infected with coccidiosis are contagious and can infect the rest of the litter. Giardiasis is the name given to the infection. We typically prescribe a sulfa type antibiotic for coccidian isosporan infections in puppies and kittens. Boarding kennels pet stores and animal shelters are prominent sources of both parasites.

If it is not treated over time it can cause damage to the lining of a cat s intestinal tract. They went to the vet on sat. While albon sulfadimethoxine is the only fda approved drug the recommended dosing schedule is to administer it for 5 21 days which can be costly both monetarily and in staff time. In kittens coccidiosis infection can cause watery and bloody diarrhea vomiting pain and dehydration followed by rapid weight loss.

This makes it almost impossible for pet owners to differentiate between the two. Two of our stray kittens have been diagnosed with giardia and coccidia. With appropriate and prompt treatment the prognosis is good. Coccidiosis is a parasitic type of infection caused by the coccidia parasite.

Coccidia however can cause severe dehydration in puppies and kittens due to the tremendous water loss and sloughing of intestinal cells. Your vet will most. If left untreated coccidiosis in symptomatic kittens can lead to death. It most commonly causes watery mucus based diarrhea in animals.

Giardia and coccidia are single cell intestinal parasites that produce similar symptoms. Giardia cysts are excreted shed in the feces of an infected cat then picked up when ingested by other cats sharing litter boxes. The most common parasite to cause coccidiosis in cats is isospora felis. We do recommend ponazuril as the preferred treatment of coccidia in kittens in a shelter.

These pets may require hospitalization for fluid therapy. You ll need to take your pup to the vet for tests to get an accurate diagnosis and the required treatment as the treatment for giardia is different than that for coccidia. Trimethoprim sulfa has also been used successfully but it is typically very unpalatable and the dosing schedule your veterinarian uses 10 days is longer than would be needed for treatment with ponazuril. There are also.

Diagnosing the problem will involve not only the clinical signs but three separate fecal readings on different days since giardia is shed intermittently. Giardia wouldn t necessarily threaten the life of a healthy adult cat but in kittens and immunocompromised adult cats it can be devastating. Kittens become weakened by the diarrhea caused by giardia making them susceptible to more serious diseases. Rarely does giardia itself cause diarrhea or gi signs so severe that it requires more treatment.

Because kittens can be quickly affected by diarrhea and vomiting it is very important to have your little fur ball examined by a veterinarian immediately if any diarrhea and vomiting symptoms occur.