Hi I'm a newbie on here but I am desperate to know if anyone else has had the following problem.
I have two 9 month old British Shorthair kittens and one of them has had severe diarrhoea with blood since bringing them home at 4 months old. The breeder said she had not had a problem before but knew someone else who had & called it Tritrichomonas Foetus. It was the mother cat's first litter so may be she is a carrier.
Outwardly the kitten is healthy, active & putting on weight. The vet ran tests & said there was nothing wrong & hopefully he would grow out of it.
I have never had cats before & what should have been a pleasure has turned into a nightmare! The blood seems to be getting worse & tonight was really bad & my husband wants rid of them! The second kitten is now showing signs of it. It is carried in fresh foeces. They are indoor cats & share a litter tray. We've tried to clear up any mess straight away before the other kitten goes in but we can't be there 24 hrs a day. We are having to wash the kitten every time he goes. We have tried changing the diet but this made it worse.
On the "net" I found some info where it said it may clear up after 10 months. A drug in the US called Ronidazole has proved to work but can have side effects.
Has anyone else experienced this disease in their cats? Is there anything else I can do? I am in tears whilst writing this & at my wits end.

Thanks

Hi

sorry to hear about the problems wiht your kitten. I haven't experienced TF myself (fingers crossed) but have read quite a bit about it and have a couple of links saved (see below). It does need a specific test to diagnose, so your vet might need to read up about it if he's not aware.

The FAB website has a good article about it:

Tritrichomonas foetus infection in cats

This is also a good article:

::: Tritrichomonas Foetus: Our Cattery's Experience :::


Ronidazole is the recommended treatment, it can have side effects but these do go away once the treatment is finished.

I do hope you can get your kitten sorted out, it must be a worry for you

__________________

Thanks for your reply & the web links.
I have printed off the pages from the FAB website and may take these down to the vets for him to see. It gives a supplier of the drug in Scotland which is where I live.

Hi there, the links posted by kozykatz are great. I have two beautiful cats, one of which struggled through diarrhoea, loads of baths and endless tests (all clear) until testing positive for T. Foetus a year ago. We got her a two week course of Ronidazole (signed all the disclaimers and followed the instructions - large capsules, need to take with water at exact intervals!) and it cleared up within 24 hours and with no apparent side effects so far. My advice would be to refer your vet to the FAB cats article and ask for the tests, then take it from there. It worked for us and it was a learning curve for my vet too. Hope your cat is well soon.

Many vets are still failing to test for this condition properly, the parasite is very fragile, and if they collect a sample and send it away to a lab , there is often nothing left to see by the time a technician looks for it. If TF is a worry, it's often best for the vet to actually swab the cat's bottom and smear the swab on a slide and look under a microscope immediately for evidence of parasites. I don't know if it's true but I was told it should be examined preferably within 15 minutes.

__________________

Hiya
Im currently having exactly the same problem as you with my kitten she is 16 weeks old and she is a british shorthaired chocolate colourpoint , I have been constantly at the vets with my kitty , she had to stay in for two nights last week but she was sent home with antibiotics and a paste , but she is still the same as before she went in , it just seems to drip from her bottom and her bottom is very sore which we have been given cream for , She is also on a strict diet of boiled chicken little and often , no kitten food at all , She is back at the vets on monday for another check up , but like i said nothing has changed since she last was there , i can sympathise with you as the mess is not nice and can be very smelly .

have you tried giving them boiled chicken breast only and make sure they drink plentyof water no milk as kittens dehydrate very quickly , my kitty is also a happy playfull mad cat lol u wouldnt think she was ill
I will keep this thread updated as i might know more monday after i have been back to the vets .
I have also heard it can take up to two years for the squits to clear up

regards lisa , pm me if you wanna chat about this

__________________

Im sorry i can't help you
But i sincerely hope you find a way in which you can get your kitty better!!


Chloe

__________________

Thanks Chloe I think its a case of trail and error really could be diet related or allergys to cetrain food or food content or stress but im not giving up on her

__________________

If it is TF and the correct treatment (ronidazole) is given, it will not take 2 years to clear up - ask your vet to test for TF, it does sound very like this could be the problem.

Hope she is soon back to normal;

__________________

hi read about your cats diarohea and it sounds exactly what my cat has just been treated for with ronidazole.she had terrible diarohea for many months and was not diagnosed until she was referred to the animal university for many tests and was confirmed with Tritrichomonas. she was put on science plan veterinary food and given the ronidazole tablets for 2 weeks . After a further 2 weeks she had gone back to normal poos and back on her usual food Royal canin. She has had an all clear test and is going to be retested in 3 months time.
not many vets no about this problem as it is a new disease in multi cat homes or breeding catteries. the tests are done in scotland so this will be a bit nearer to home for you. It is a horrible problem but hopefully quite easy to sort out so long as you can get the tablets down your cats throat!!
hope this helps you and your cat