Wendy I think that giardia is most often contracted from
contaminated water.
I found MeMe through a photo on Petfinders. It was two months
after NoNo died and there was something about her face that
struck a cord. I called the 'shelter' and was told that she was just
getting over an upper respiratory and was an abandoned kitten who
had been with her for 4 months.
We (my husband) and I drove 7 hours to what turned out to be a
private home in which there were well over 100 cats. We were so stunned
and so unable to breathe that we simply picked her up from a bed where
she
was sleeping with at least 40 other cats, signed a form, paid a fee,
and left
without breathing.
I had spoken to the woman on the telephone several times before we
decided
to make the trip. She said that she had been tested for FeLV and was
negative but
had the remnants of an upper respiratory. She said she was treating her
for diarrhea
as a result of the antibiotic. What we encountered was a total shock.
We took her to our local (allopathic) vet who was horrified at her
condition (stomatitis
giardia, ringworm and chronic sneezing). She tested negative for FIV
and Bartonella
and was not tested for FeLIV because I said she was negative.
Her progress has been the (almost) elimination of sneezing and
ringworm. The first
giardia treatment did not work, so our homeopath is working on another
treatment.
That is MeMe's story. She is affectionate and confident and has become
the alpha member of our
pack of two Scottish Terriers. She bonded with them instantly and they
seem so happy to
have her.
I'm writing into the ethers, just to make this real.
Jane