Giardia is a parasite. You can get it from drinking dirty water, and that is a common way for humans to get it.
Dogs and cats can also get it from drinking dirty water..but they can also get it from licking their feet after being in the litterbox..from licking their butts...from sniffing the poop with giardia in it... It is treatable with flagyl..but it can also burrow into the intestines and come out later..it is a PITA ... On 9/28/07, laurieskatz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > I don't remember Giardia odor but think it's from drinking dirty water. > Treatable...I think with antibiotics. I don't recall vets finding it in a > stool sample...just that we've treated cats with diarrhea for it. > Laurie > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: MaryChristine > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 9:57 AM > Subject: Re: Kitten Update > > kelley, remind me on giardia--is that one that isn't easy to find (ie, isn't > in every sample?) i know that's the case with coccidia...... so far (keeping > lots and lots of paws crossed), i've never had giardia, so i don't know it's > smell, but once you've had coccidia in your house, you never forget it..... > you know on csi and similar programs, they can tell the illness/problem just > from the smell? coccidia is like that..... tri-trich has a different aroma > all its own. > > i > > On 9/28/07, Caroline Kaufmann <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > > I think they are June babies, but don't know the dates for sure because I > don't have their records with me and I don't think they are from the same > litter. They all weigh over 2 lbs now. Yoda shot up from 2.4 at Labor Day > when I took him in to 3.6 last Saturday when I weighed him. The two grey > ones are smaller, but I need to reweigh them because adoption day was so > crazy last Sat., I didn't get a chance to write down their weights. I ended > up with one long haired grey one because it wouldn't gain weight and > couldn't get fixed yet because it didn't weigh 2 lbs. The volunteer who had > it before me was syringe feeding it? But when I got it, it immediately ate > crunchies first? So I started mixing wet and dry with that cat and it will > eat both now fine. The cat did not need to be syringe fed. I weighed it > last Saturday and I think it's 2.4 This is my smallest one, but it's > clearly gained weight since I have had it (we think it's a boy, but it's so > hard to tell when they are tiny and have long hair!). It's getting more > longer than fatter so the cat is really funny-looking now because it has > this long, lean skinny mid-section and this big head that looks like it > would tip it over! As opposed to Yoda who gets a fat snake belly everytime > he eats and who has a tiny head! > > They are not dripping diarrhea though. As of yesterday, the diarrhea was > a little worse tho in all of them- more watery, less cow pie-like. > > We are doing a stool sample today. My mom is off work so she is going to > pick up a Yoda stool sample and take that in. Hopefully, we will have some > answers soon. The smelly poo is driving me crazy! > > -Caroline > > > > > > ________________________________ > Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 01:48:07 -0700 > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Subject: Re: Kitten Update > > To: felvtalk@felineleukemia.org > > > > > > > > In my experience though, coccidia gets really bad, really fast. i.e. the > kittens are basically dripping diarrhea....They get it on their rear ends > and back legs and have to be bathed frequently, etc....They don't make it to > the litterbox. That's what has been my experience with coccidia. Kittens > are often born with coccidia as well. When you've dealt with it you can > usually tell from the smell. ugh. > > > > With soft stools a lot of times it's giardia. I think a fecal is a good > idea, but if the stools are not as I described above, or if nothing shows > up, I don't think I'd add another med. at this time. > > > > Lots of kittens just have loose stools due to changes in diet, additives, > stress, etc.... Are they still hydrated? losing weight? I had one kitten > we put through the ringer trying to diagnose his loose stools, and we > finally just left him alone and they cleared up. I think it was all the > medicine we were giving him. How old are the kittens again? > > > > t > > > > Kelley Saveika <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > On 9/27/07, Caroline Kaufmann wrote: > > > My three kittens are status-quo. I started them on a probiotic made by > > > Eagle Brand on Tues. evening, so they've had a day and a half of that > and > > > we're still having diarrhea/soft stools/cow pies (and stinky!). I don't > > > know how long it takes the probiotic to work though? I have talked to > the > > > volunteer of the Adoption group- who originally had these kittens and > whom I > > > needed to obtain approval from before taking in a stool sample. She said > > > she doubts it's coccidia or girardia because she thinks it would have > shown > > > up earlier because she had them at her house for a while before I took > them > > > in. > > > > That isn't necessarily true. Coccidia is so very common in kittens, > > and I have sent kittens to a "clean" environment (no other cats at all > > - they are the only cat) and had them come down with coccidia after > > they had been there a month. > > > > In fact, coccidia is so common that every time I have taken a kitten > > in for a fecal, they have prescribed Albon even if the stool sample > > doesn't show any (it can be hard to detect). > > > > You need to get approval?? Before taking a kitten in for a fecal? > > > > It isn't uncommon for rescuers to have 20 or 30 (or more) cats in > > their houses, by the way. They kill close to 70% of the cats that > > come in to our local kill shelter. > > -- > > Rescuties - Saving the world, one cat at a time. > > > > http://www.rescuties.org > > > > Vist the Rescuties store and save a kitty life! > > > > http://astore.amazon.com/rescuties-20 > > > > Please help George! > > > > http://rescuties.chipin.com/george > > > > I GoodSearch for Rescuties. > > > > Raise money for your favorite charity or school just by searching the > > Internet with GoodSearch - www.goodsearch.com - powered by Yahoo! > > > > > > > > ________________________________ > Get news, entertainment and everything you care about at Live.com. Check it > out! > > > > -- > > Spay & Neuter Your Neighbors! > Maybe That'll Make The Difference.... > > MaryChristine > > AIM / YAHOO: TenHouseCats > MSN: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ICQ: 289856892 -- Rescuties - Saving the world, one cat at a time. http://www.rescuties.org Vist the Rescuties store and save a kitty life! http://astore.amazon.com/rescuties-20 Please help George! http://rescuties.chipin.com/george I GoodSearch for Rescuties. Raise money for your favorite charity or school just by searching the Internet with GoodSearch - www.goodsearch.com - powered by Yahoo!
