Giardia Coccidia In Kittens

Kittens become weakened by the diarrhea caused by giardia making them susceptible to more serious diseases.

Giardia coccidia in kittens. Coccidiosis is a parasitic type of infection caused by the coccidia parasite. The most common parasite to cause coccidiosis in cats is isospora felis. Coccidia however can cause severe dehydration in puppies and kittens due to the tremendous water loss and sloughing of intestinal cells. If left untreated coccidiosis in symptomatic kittens can lead to death.

We do recommend ponazuril as the preferred treatment of coccidia in kittens in a shelter. Your vet will most. Diagnosing the problem will involve not only the clinical signs but three separate fecal readings on different days since giardia is shed intermittently. Rarely does giardia itself cause diarrhea or gi signs so severe that it requires more treatment.

Giardia and coccidia are single cell intestinal parasites that produce similar symptoms. This makes it almost impossible for pet owners to differentiate between the two. They went to the vet on sat. 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.

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. My problem is how rapidly they ve deteriorated. Veterinary attention is needed to ease symptoms and rid the cat of the parasitic infestation. Have your vet check your kitten out as soon as you suspect giardia.

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. Giardia is another protozoan infection resulting in soft frothy greasy diarrhea which can be treated with panacur. In kittens coccidiosis infection can cause watery and bloody diarrhea vomiting pain and dehydration followed by rapid weight loss. There are also.

If it is not treated over time it can cause damage to the lining of a cat s intestinal tract. Coccidia are a group of single celled parasites called protozoa. Symptoms of coccidiosis appear almost two weeks after the initial infection. Boarding kennels pet stores and animal shelters are prominent sources of both parasites.

The giardia make their way to the small intestines of cats where they can cause a wide range of symptoms. They both had started throwing up and having watery loose stool. It most commonly causes watery mucus based diarrhea in animals. Giardiasis is the name given to the infection.

With appropriate and prompt treatment the prognosis is good. Coccidia is a nasty little single celled organism that causes mucousy diarrhea in kittens and can be treated with the prescription drug ponazuril. We typically prescribe a sulfa type antibiotic for coccidian isosporan infections in puppies and kittens. Giardia wouldn t necessarily threaten the life of a healthy adult cat but in kittens and immunocompromised adult cats it can be devastating.

These pets may require hospitalization for fluid therapy. Giardia cysts are excreted shed in the feces of an infected cat then picked up when ingested by other cats sharing litter boxes. 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. Tuxedo had a fever and dot was in the high normal range.

Two of our stray kittens have been diagnosed with giardia and coccidia.