anyone have experience with giardia?

they need flagyl, or metronidazole. be careful because you can get it. wash your hands after touching the cats and keep them away from any other animals.keep them in a bathroom or other room where they will be away from everyone. good luck.

We get it at the shelter and it is pretty common....simple to treat though, panacure for 3 days...the vet may prescribe another dewormer however depending on the vet and his personal preferences, they all do the same thing! It is actuall pretty hard to catch it from your pet...it has to be fecal to oral! Usually people and animals get it from contaminated water rather than one another!

I wish there was an edit feature for answers - in case you didn't figure out that "has" is "gas," "gas" is what I meant. :)

Giardia is a parasite (protozoan) that is found in food, water and soil contaminated with the feces from infected humans or animals. It can cause an infection called Giardiasis (GEE-are-DYE-us-sis). for which the primary symptom is diarrhea. It can also cause an upset stomach and excessive flatulence (has).

The giardia parasite is not uncommon in the United States, and can be found in soil, for example at dog parks. It also can be found in contaminated water, less common I think in the U.S. than it is in foreign countries. I have experienced it both in the west and after a trip abroad to Russia - at the time of my visit called the USSR.

The most important thing you can do to control the spread of this disease is good handwashing. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after handling eachof your animals, their bedding, litterboxes, dishes, etc.

The parasite is killed by the heat of a dishwasher, so wash all your dishes in this way if you have one. A 1:32 solution of bleach is also effective, but the dishwasher is easier - at least for dishes.

Giardiasis isn't lethal, usually, but there is a danger of dehydration, so if you think you have gotten it, see your health care provider and drink plenty of fluids. Remember to use good handwasing to prevent the spread of infection.

As long as the cats are being treated, things should get better, if I were you I would bring a stool sample from the ferret, it can be detected, as far as you getting it I think you'll be OK one of my dogs at some bid seed with bird poop on it and gave it to the other grey it happened on a weekend, everything was coming out of both ends, got hold of the Vet, he felt my pain, he came into the office did the stool sample went on antibiotics and gave be a bottle of liquid charcoal incase it didn't ease up with meds., I didn't get it and the one greyhound, my little lady, was running out back to poop, so did the seed eater but the vomiting wasn't as easy my one girl would do it on newspaper I put down but poor ethel would come over, look at me like HELP and puke on me and I was fine, the worst thing is bird poop, I was told by the Vet and it was one think I never thought, even if they eat a bit of grass that has some on it that you can't even see, all will be fine if you do what your Vet says

This is a very contagios situation. You can get very sick if you get the giardia. Be she to keep the kittens isolated away from all other animals. They need theier own litterbox and food and water bowls. Use rubber gloves when cleaning the litter box and change the litter often while they are being treated. Be sure to wash your hands well after handleing the kittens. Get some advice from your veterinarian. Good luck!


Amy