We found Sam, a 3-month-old purebred Pixie-Bob on the Internet. The cattery owner told us that he had recently picked up an upper respiratory infection at a cat show.  We waited about a month for his health to improve and on October 3, 2007, we made the trip and went to pick him up.  When we arrived home, his eye was still runny, and he was sneezing. We continued treating him with the antibiotic Clavamox provided by the breeder.  Our roller coaster ride was just beginning.

The next day, our vet came by and examined him.  He did the usual tests and confirmed that Sam definitely had a URI and suggested we continue with the Clavamox for a few more days.  The fecal float was negative, so we thought we had a little good news.   We continued with the Clavamox, but his URI symptoms did not improve.  To make matters worse, when he finished the antibiotic, we noticed he began to have diarrhea.  While we were concerned about the diarrhea, we were more concerned about his URI and took him to an ophthalmologist who prescribed an anti-inflammatory, and his eye slowly, started to improve.   Unfortunately, the diarrhea got worse.

At this point, we thought Sam might have a diet or allergy issue, and we started to research feline nutrition.  We decided to try foods without grains or by-products, and other known remedies, but the diarrhea persisted.  We were really getting frustrated by now, and when our regular vet was out of town, we brought Sam to a local clinic.  Again, his fecal float was negative, and we went home with a two-week prescription of Albon.  His diarrhea improved slightly on the Albon, with an occasional formed stool, but once the prescription was finished, the diarrhea came back in full force.

Sam's diarrhea was dribbled liquid and especially rank smelling.  We always knew when he had been in the litterbox because the smell was terrible.  Airing out the house, extra cleaning, and fanny wiping became the norm.  Even more frustrated, we went back to the vet who had prescribed the Albon, and this time we came home with another two-week prescription of Albon, a 28-day prescription of Metronidazole, and a box of prescription cat food.  During the treatment, we would see an occasional formed stool and our hopes went up again.  Unfortunately, once we stopped giving him the antibiotics, the diarrhea returned within 48 hours.

We had been postponing having Sam neutered because of his health problems, but he was approaching seven months by now, and we knew it was time.  We called our at home vet, Dr. Robert Bush, to do the neutering.  After the procedure, we discussed our 3-month diarrhea ordeal. We were very concerned that none of the usual remedies or antibiotics seemed to be working.   Sam had a third fecal float, and once again, the results were negative for the “normal” parasites.  Dr. Bush suggested that it might be Tritrichomonas foetus, and told us that Dr. Gookin at NCSU was testing for this uncommon parasite.  We immediately scheduled with the Vet School at NC State to bring in a stool sample and have it PCR tested.  A few days later, we received a positive test result.  The relief in finally having an answer was incredible.

Sam is currently on a 14-day regimen of Ronidazole, and we are hopeful that he will win the battle against the parasite and the diarrhea will finally end.  We opted to use the capsules to avoid the known bitter taste of the drug and to avoid the possibility of under dosing him.   Currently, Ronidazole is the only known drug that will eradicate T. foetus and at this point, it appears to be working.  His stool consistency has improved significantly, and the odor is not what it once was.

We think that it is important for other cat owners to know that not all kittens/cats have multiple physical symptoms when infected with T. foetus.  If not for Sam's offensively, malodorous diarrhea, we would not have thought Sam was ill at all.  He has maintained a voracious appetite, plenty of energy, and a shiny, healthy coat.  We also want other cat owners to keep in mind that T. foetus is extremely infectious to other cats that live together and share the same litter boxes, making reinfection a real possibility.  For anyone who believes that their cat has chronic diarrhea due to T. foetus, we highly recommend that you read Dr. Gookin's full report to learn more about the infection and the treatment.

We would like to express a special thanks to TF Felines for bringing awareness to this emerging feline issue.

- Charleen & John

For the latest information on diagnosis and treatment of TF please read: AN OWNER'S GUIDE TO DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF CATS INFECTED WITH TRITRICHOMONAS FOETUS.