# Anyone have experience with Giardia??



## StormChaser (Aug 3, 2010)

At the beginning of September I brought home a new puppy (Riley). He started having diarrhea on Saturday and we just found out yesterday thru fecal tests that he's positive for the parasite Giardia. Now begins my paranoia.

My kitties are strictly indoors. The one thing that made me less lenient on getting a dog was the fact that they have to potty and exercise outside. I hate the thought of fleas, ticks and possibly worms in my home and infecting my cats. Now we get the dog, and come to find he's got one of the most contagious and hard to get rid of parasite out there.

I'm less concerned for my husband and me getting infected, but I'm absolutely terrified that my kitties will. When I think of my house all I can picture are these writhing cysts of parasite larvae (think of the cocoons Moguai's make when they get wet in the Gremlins movies). I know that I'm probably being over dramatic, but I can't help it. It's like a nightmare coming true for me.

So, please... Does ANYONE have experience with this? What did you do to prevent re-infestation? He's got full run of the downstairs when we are home, crated when aren't. He's allowed on the couches. In his crate he has a doggy bed and some toys for company while we are away. Do I need to vacuum and disinfect everything daily? Should I chuck his toys and get new ones? My house is too small to keep him separated from the cats; is there anything I can do to minimize exposure? I've read that the cyst can get stuck on the infected animals hair follicles... so every time I pet my pup I cringe now... it's horrible. :-( I also read that it can take cats 5-16 days after infection to show signs; now every time I clean the box I'm terrified of finding the tell-tale smelly, soft, orangy poo (or worse, diarrhea).

I need some moral support and advice to keep my sanity while he's being medicated (5 days on Panacur, 10 days on metronidazole).


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## NRD (Mar 31, 2010)

I am going to be more in listening mode, like you, since my Hershey was just diagnosed Monday with an "imbalance of internal organisms", probably Giardia. He's taking 10 days of Metronidazole, and Little Hersh, the 5-1/2 month old kitten I've had for almost two months, is getting a half dose. They both showed a little blood in the stool and "cow patty" type stools, no other symptoms. We'll see what others say, but my vet was not yet overly concerned, said many cats have it but show no symptoms at all. My cats are strictly indoor, but I understand the organism can be harbored and be dormant for 2-3 years, so either of them might have had it when I adopted them in the last six months. Interestingly, since my other two cats have shown no symptoms, the vet feels nothing is needed for them at this stage. 

Googling Giardia brings up a few god articles. Among other things, one is supposed to be very diligent about both keeping the litterbox clean and disinfecting it, to try to help prevent its spread. Vacuuming is also supposed to help. My vet said stress, which suppresses the immune system, can help bring it on if it's present. I had been away for two three-day weekends, and Hershey, despite seeming to be pretty independent, gets diarrhea when I go away, probably due to being upset. I wonder if your Riley might have had it and the stress of adjusting to his new environment allowed it to surface.
Keeping a pet that goes outdoors from fecal matter and from dirty sources of water is supposed to help minimize the risk of infection from giardia. 

That exhausts my little knowledge, as it's new to me, too. Let's hope the medication, plus keeping a clean house and litterbox, does the trick.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

My kitty had giardia. She was treated with Metronidazole and the problem was solved. No one else caught it, but I was careful to remove her #2 from the litter box ASAP


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## Josh 91 (Jan 25, 2009)

My little sister got giardia from a cat. she was really ill for a month so i would watch out for it.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Josh 91 said:


> My little sister got giardia from a cat. she was really ill for a month so i would watch out for it.


I've read a little about it too, and thought it couldn't spread from cats to humans.


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## StormChaser (Aug 3, 2010)

Thanks for responding, everyone. NRD - sorry to hear you're going through it too! 

My vet was not concerned either; in fact I had called after I got their message about the fecal test results and probably sounded like an idiot. But, they basically told me that all I need to really do is make sure the doo is picked up immediately and wash my hands a lot. They also suggested that I could use baby wipes to wipe his rear and paws when he's coming in to the house. That really didn't sound like enough to me, since reading up about Giardia on the internet makes it seem as though this parasite is the next superbug.

I did get some insight from another person on a different forum who went through an infestation 5x with the same dog when it was a puppy. She told me that she just vacuumed a lot, and every time he went poop she would pick it up and spray it with a bleach solution (she used 50/50!). She said the grass died but it grew back. Her other dog, two cats and two birds never caught it.

So far he's been on the meds for 2.5 days, and he's doing a lot better. The cats are not showing any signs (though I know I'm not in the clear, by any means). I'm also thinking that because my kitties are older (5 and 7) and in good health, they likely have a strong enough immune system to fight off an infestation should they happen to ingest some of the cysts. I hope so, anyway. In the mean time, I've been making sure to keep their boxes super clean. That with the daily vacuuming, surface disinfecting and cleaning Riley when he comes inside is about the best I can do, I guess. If I don't see them start showing signs of being infected, then when I take Riley's sample in for the follow up test I'll bring on of the girls' samples too to test and make sure.

From what I've read there isn't a lot known about the spread of Giardia between animals and humans. Some groups think it's possible, others do not. Some groups even think that dogs cannot pass it to cats. I think it's best to err on the side of caution. :wink Also, giardia is the parasite in water that makes you have to boil it before you can drink it - when humans get infected by them it's known as "Montezuma's Revenge" or "Traveler's Diarrhea". I have actually gotten sick from Giardia before, about two years ago on my honeymoon to Mexico. I was sick for about a week when we came home and finally admitted that I would need to see the doctor for meds because I just wasn't getting any better. I don't remember what she prescribed, but I was on it for about a week and after a couple days I was already better. I know it's a common thing, I just don't want it in my house to further infect my furbabies!! :cussing


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I have a friend who got it in Nicaragua, and she said you just go to a pharmacy and ask for the meds. It's so common you don't even have to be seen by a doctor to get treated for it.

I've also heard that one fecal test isn't enough, even if it comes back negative. A follow-up test in about another month is called for, because apparently the cysts can be there but not show up on the first test.


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## StormChaser (Aug 3, 2010)

Well, cleaned the box tonight and discovered at least one of my cats has diarrhea. My heart dropped. I'm bringing in a fecal sample for them tomorrow after work, and praying that it's NOT giardia. 

I've been very diligent with Riley - doo gets picked up immediately and sprayed with a 50/50 bleach solution. I throw it out immediately and use anitbacterial gel until I get home where I can wash my hands. I wipe his butt and paws with wipes every time we come in from outside. The only thing I haven't really done is vacuumed every day, but I've been doing it about every other.

*Please, please be a fluke and not the parasite!!*


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## NRD (Mar 31, 2010)

Hope for everyone's sake it's something temporary and easily treatable. I just finished the 10-day doses of Metronidazole for Hersh and Little Hersh, and for the moment, everyone is now just fine again.


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## StormChaser (Aug 3, 2010)

NRD, that is good news! How did you handle cleaning when they were being treated? Did you do anything special with the rest of the house or just focus on keeping the boxes clean?


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## NRD (Mar 31, 2010)

I'm sure I'm not a role model in this area, but one thing I always try to do is keep the litterboxes clean. I scoop at least twice a day, and during this period I made a point, in the morning, anyway, to scoop immediately after each pooped. I will thoroughly clean each box this weekend. The other thing I do is give them all L-Lysine each day. I'm convinced it helped clear up Little Hersh's and Blizzy's eye discharges when they first arrived, and it seems to strengthen their immune systems generally. I also think Hersh got the giardia because, even though he seems so good-natured on the outside, he gets upset internally whenever I go away, and I was away for two consecutive three-day weekends. I think his immune system is strong enough to keep it in check otherwise, but the stress of my being away weakens his immunity. I am hoping the L-Lysine, plus fish oil, helps maintain a strong immune system for all of them. In six months, this is the only illness they have had, other than a little URI upon arrival.


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## StormChaser (Aug 3, 2010)

Thanks  I just wanted to know if you also went so far as to disinfect every hard surface in the house daily with bleach or anything like that.

So far whichever cat it was only had it that one day. They are both OK now, and I haven't yet turned in a sample for them. I'm pretty sure it was Asia who had the diarrhea, because I was feeding her a little bit of Riley's boiled hamburger in the morning when he got his breakfast. She's always had a sensitive tummy, so I think that just may have been too much for her - even though it was relatively bland. 

Unfortunately, now the pup has diarrhea again. GAH! It is a never ending battle around here!! So, he's back to bland (I finally had him on his regular food too... *sigh*) and fecals for both species are going in tonight after work.

I can't wait until things are normal around here again.


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## StormChaser (Aug 3, 2010)

I just wanted to update this in case anyone is following it for giardia support.

My vet told me that I might as well wait on the fecal test until Saturday or Monday, when he's actually due (10 days after panacur meds are finished). So, I'll just bring in one for everyone at that time. 

In the meantime I've been doing a lot of research on holistic treatment and stopped by a natural pet market near my work today to pick up Azmira's Holistic Giardia and Parasite D'Tox, and Pro-Biotic Bones. I'm going to give him the Azmira's for at least a week, and then the pro-biotic bones until he shows me that his body is back up to snuff. The nice thing about the Azmira's is that I can give it to the cats too if I suspect they've been infected.


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## Clutch (May 10, 2010)

Slightly off-topic, but I had a friend get it while we were hiking the Appalachian Trail and man, I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

I hope all of your pets get well.


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## Viljaana (Oct 6, 2010)

We got it. Nice.

Actually only the cat got it. The test came back positive last Friday. Now his on 10-day-treatment of fenbendazole (Axilur) and antibiotics, and 30 days on probiotics to help his intestines to recover from the infection. He gets his meds four times a day. And yesterday I cleaned the hole house with chlorine, so the mass destruction of the little bastards should me done.

One of the negative sides of the infection is that Wizard is now very scared of me. I sure hope, he will eventually forgive me from forcing the pill down his throat. Hi is actually my girlfriend cat, but she is convinced that it is not possible to give pills to Wizard alone, so when both of us aren't present, I'm the one who does the dirty job. So the cat hates me, not her. Just perfect.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Rest assured Viljaana, when the treatment is over the kitty will eventually get over it. Perhaps you can help ease her tension by pretending to restrain her for a pill and then giving her a special yummy treat like chicken or tuna. This way, she will not always associate you chasing her down and holding her "hostage" as getting a pill shoved down her throat. Sometimes she gets a tasty snack, and maybe will start to think "Hey, he's not ALWAYS the bad guy!!"

My cat had an ear infection once and I had to keep her ears cleaned and medicated daily. She avoided me like the plague during, and for two weeks after her treatment. Ti this day, she still runs when she sees me with a cotton swab.


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## Viljaana (Oct 6, 2010)

The poor thing isn't getting any better. On Tuesday I cleaned his toilet with chlorite (among the rest of the house) and he started avoiding it (Probably because the weird smell). He hasn't pooped since Monday and merely eats. Our vet said that the medication may cause nausea, so he's probably just lost his appetite. He got some more pills for that too :? and some special food.

Good thing is my lovely girlfriend found that she too is able to give cat his medicene without me. So currently I'm not the only bad guy in our house .


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## Viljaana (Oct 6, 2010)

Wizard is now feeling better. His eaten and pooped, and tomorrow is the last day for his medication. 

I'm so relieved. At one point I was so worried of him, I've already lost one cat this year, so having the other one sick was almost too much for me.

Good luck to all of you fellow cat lovers ho struggle with giardia and other paracites.


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## StormChaser (Aug 3, 2010)

I'm glad Wizard is better, Viljaana. From the thread dates it looks like it didn't take too much time - always nice! I hope that you've had negative fecals since that infestation.

Riley ended up just having that one bought of giardia. To anyone getting here by googling the holistic medicine I bought - it made his tummy worse. I have discovered however that he has a very sensitive tummy as it is, so I think this just aggrevated it. I wouldn't give it to my kitties, because their tummies are sensitive as well.

I am glad this only lasted two weeks, but it was a pain in the you know where.


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## squeekers (Jun 17, 2009)

Riot just had a bout of Giardia. Took 3 days of Flagyl to clear..same thing as metro whatever the name is LOL


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## bluegoo06 (Nov 24, 2010)

My cats had this mess when I first moved from the midwest to the south. Supposedly I was told its more common in the warmer climate of the south. The vet told me that I could actually bring it from outside, that the giardia could live in puddles.

My cats had one batch of them, they took the mediz- wahtever medicine, and were fine in a week or so. Never had any issues since. I made sure I cleaned the box out daily and scoop it a couple times aday until they were "healed". Cats are both indoor and both got it at the same time. I havent had any reoccurances of it since.

I would wash your hands more often until this passes especially if you play with doggie. Keep the boxes extra clean until doggie is better. i didnt have any issues getting rid of this.


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