Ragdoll Cat Forums

Before I went and purchased my current kitten Marley I had been waiting on a kitten several months. The day before he was supposed to come home he was diagnosed with this. I spoke to an expert about this and if I recall he lived in NY. There is a lot of catteries out their that have this and don't know it or don't acknowledge it. Fortunately, for me this breeder did let me know that my kitten had this. When I spoke to my vet about it he recommended that I decline the kitten. As heartbreaking as it was, I decided not to take the kitten. I hope things turn out ok for you and hopefully more breeders will learn about this and try to get it out of their cattery.

KewlKat Wrote:First, sorry for the length of this, but I thought I’d share some information to those that may have issues with their kids regarding loose stools, diarrhea, etc. I’ve been reading and googling today in hopes of finding some help for my kids. Both now are currently having diarrhea, anything from super runny to mud and an occasional bit of formation on top of mud. It began with our newest and now Maddy started before we woke yesterday.

Our newest kid (yes, still not named) had her wellness check last Friday. They performed the fecal floatation test and of course it came out negative. It sounds like many parasites escape detection in this test but I guess the vet has to start somewhere. Before all my reading today, I guess I had the “impression” that it would find more then it does.

The vet decided she didn’t like the “looks” of the sample so she decided to take a sample from her directly and looked at it under a microscope. She said she thought she may have some spirochetes and prescribed metronidazole. I asked at that time should we dose all the kids if there was a problem and she said no.

Much to my distress, Maddy started having issues yesterday. I phoned the clinic when they opened yesterday to get an appointment to have Maddy looked at. I was told they didn’t need to see her, just drop off a stool sample and they’d check it. I informed them that that failed to show anything with no name and they did suspect something with her via the direct sample and prescribed meds. If it is contagious, then maybe Maddy should be seen and prescribed meds too. Well, too bad, just bring us the poo. So, we are once again looking for a clinic that cares about its patients. All of this has led me to search out a better technique or test to detect what’s going on in my kids guts. I thought I’d share what I found in case anyone else is having poo issues with their kids and are frustrated with negative test results.

Quote:Tritrichomonas foetus:

Tritrichomonas foetus is an emerging parasite of felines. It is a flagellated protozoan parasite of domestic cats that resides within the lumen of the colon and causes colitis and chronic, foul-smelling diarrhea. The infection is prevalent among cattery cats where transmission via the fecal-oral route is suspected. Infected cats may have persistent diarrhea for up to 2 years and can remain infected for their lifetime.

Testing for this parasite is still not routine at most veterinary clinics. T. foetus looks similar to Giardia when viewed under a microscope. Therefore, its misdiagnosis as Giardia is common. Fecal floats and Giardia SNAP tests do not detect T. foetus; a T. foetus-specific test must be performed to detect it.

Tritrichomonas foetus is well known as a venereal infection of bovines (cattle). It was first reported in cats in 1996, where it was found in the intestine and was associated with diarrhea. There is no evidence that feline T. foetus came from cattle, in fact, veterinarians don’t know how T. foetus made its way into the feline population.

T. foetus is common in purebred and shelter cats, with no particular breed being over represented. No breed of cat is known to be immune to T. foetus. Based on a survey of cats at an international cat show, approximately a third (36 out of 117) of the purebred feline population were positive with T. foetus. Geographically, T. foetus has been found in many countries.

Who should test for T. foetus? Catteries that currently or periodically have cats with bouts of diarrhea and that have passed tests for other parasites such as Giardia, Helminths (worms), and Coccidia. Catteries should also consider baseline testing their cats even if there has been no instances of diarrhea lately. All new cats coming into the cattery should also be tested for T. foetus.

How will T. foetus affect the health of my cat? Infected cats usually do not have their overall health adversely affected. Therefore, owners of infected cats often ignore the infection since their cats maintain body and coat condition. Unfortunately, such cats remain a source of infection for others. If left untreated, approximately ninety percent of infected cats will stop having diarrhea within two years. However, most of these cats will continue to carry the T. foetus organism, possibly for a lifetime. Single cat owners may find this outcome satisfactory if the cat remains healthy in other respects. However, if left untreated the T. foetus infection will perpetuate within their cattery and spread to other cats and catteries when kittens are adopted or animals are transported for breeding. Although many cats will eventually resolve their diarrhea, the prolonged presence of the organisms could predispose to development of inflammatory bowel disease later in life, but this has not yet been explored.

There is a lot of information on this parasite at this site:
http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/docs/personnel/gookin_jody.html

For those in the UK:
http://www.fabcats.org/breeders/infoshee...monas.html

Quote:Although most information on T foetus infection has come from studies of cats in the USA, we have identified several cases of infection in cats in the UK (mostly in young pedigree cats, and all from multicat households generally with more than one cat being affected), and it has also been identified in cats from Germany, Italy, Spain and Norway. In the UK, up to 30% of faecal samples from cats with diarrhoea are currently being found to be infected; with young pedigree cats (particularly Siamese and Bengal) being significantly more likely to be infected. The evidence therefore suggests that T foetus is probably quite widespread in cat populations, and infection is most likely where there is a high density of cats sharing the same environment.

Researchers investigate T. Foetus Infection in Catteries
http://www.cvm.ncsu.edu/docs/documents/p...update.pdf

Researchers find a cause for chronic diarrhea
http://74.125.95.132/u/ncstatecvm?q=cach...s&ie=UTF-8

Texas A & M does the test and there may be others but Texas A & M is the only one I’ve found so far besides the NC State University. I’m making some phone calls tomorrow and see if I can find a vet to get the sample to send out. I think I’ll use Texas A & M since some vets in my area do send blood off to them.
https://www.cvm.tamu.edu/gilab/assays/Tr...onas.shtml

I hope this may be of help to others struggling to find a cause for their kids loose stools or diarrhea. If I had listened to my doctors 9 yrs ago, I doubt I’d have recovered as much as I have when I became chronically ill. The internet and my research led me to a correct diagnosis which was eventually confirmed in the medical community. Knowledge is power and I hope for those still frustrated with poo issues, you may want to consider having your kid(s) checked for this parasite.

I'm currently fighting Giardia so I read a lot about T. Foetus as one can be mistaken for the other. It seems it is more widespread than originally thought and in France and Germany more and more cases first diagnozed as Giardia prove to be in fact T. Foetus. There is no approval for Ronidazole in our countries for cats and dogs either. I think there is a tolerance for birds even though another very similar molecule (Carnidazole) is more widely used but it doesn't have the same efficiency.

You know IBD and food intolerance are very common with Giardia too not only T. Foetus. They weaken and fragilize the intestines making it more likely for different foods to generate an allergic reaction in the cat. Once the cat has an established intolerance, feeding him this food can also strengthen the Gias or T. Foetus and help them multiply. Many pets are infected with either protozoan parasites but don't show any signs as their immune system is strong enough to keep them at a very low level. Cats can live with them and they are only really dangerous to fragile kitties.
I'm currently giving metronidazole and fenbendazole alternatively under the supervision of my vets. We've been fighting for 2 and a half months now and even though it has been better, neither of them is healed. I've been wondering what I would do if things wouldn't improve... would I be ready to try something riskier just to eradicate those parasites and I am still unsure.
A friend of mine is ready for the next step and give Carnidazole to her cats and it seems to work miracles in many cases. I don't think I'm that far. It is risky... Metronidazole is risky too even though it's widely given.
I'm starting Fenbendazole Sunday again and crossing my fingers that we will manage to control the problem. I spend a lot of time cleaning the house, the litterpan and bathing the kids and it's no fun. At times you lose hope it will ever work.
I am lucky to have cautious and very helpful vets. They are not ready to jump the wagon and try something too drastic too soon. I understand them even though some days and nights this behaviors infuriates me as I am tired but still need to clean everything... or when I'm fighting with Ebony when I'm giving him his bath.