Treating T. Foetus

[NETim]

Little Charlie "volunteered" to go the vet today to get a stool sample collected that will be sent on to the lab for testing. We were told he was brave.

All 3 of our Coons have been symptomatic and have been since we got them home almost 2 months ago now.

If he tests positive, all 3 will probably be treated with RDZ in an attempt to cure the evil stuff.

We've been told that during, and for two weeks after, the treatment the cats must be isolated from each other to prevent them re-infecting each other. Then they all 3 get retested to see if it took. (I read though, that within 3 or 4 days of the start of treatment, the diarrhea goes away, so I take that as a good early indicator.) I'm not sure that keeping all 3 cats isolated from each other for a month is practical. They'd go nuts without each others' company I think and I don't see how we could accomplish the feat with our floorplan in the first place.

Eventually all 3 will be back together, so if one proves resistant, they'll get it again. We're not sure we would want to put down one to help the others. Tough place to be.

I don't want them to have TF obviously but the vet still insists that we're fighting IBD in all 3 cats now.

[LaurulFeatherCat]

One month of isolation seems a small price to pay for three healthy cats later. It is hard work to keep a cat in isolation, I agree, but the alternative is more sickness.

[NETim]

At this point in time, we are actually HOPING they have TF and that the RDZ therapy works. I'd rather deal with that than IBD.

The cats are suffering and so is the house. I never thought that a little cat could make so much doo-doo. And all 3 are at it!

[doodlebug]

I went back and read a couple of your threads. From what I gathered, the first kitten was just fine before your brought in the second pair and has just recently developed diarrhea...right? That screams something contagious and not IBD. If the T. Foetus test is negative and the vet keeps pushing IBD...I'd recommend finding another vet.

[NETim]

Originally Posted by doodlebug

I went back and read a couple of your threads. From what I gathered, the first kitten was just fine before your brought in the second pair and has just recently developed diarrhea...right? That screams something contagious and not IBD. If the T. Foetus test is negative and the vet keeps pushing IBD...I'd recommend finding another vet.

Yep, original cat (from same breeder, 2 months older) was home for two weeks before the younger pair were on the scene. She had completely normal looking stools, happy and healthy so far as we could tell and they've all been eating the same diet. The little male of the pair had explosive diarrhea almost immediately after he arrived.

The other two (including the older one) got the runs shortly after (2-3 weeks) and have been steadily getting worse ever since.

So, yeah, it almost has to be something contagious.