My cat has loose stool, acting better, should I give the antibiotic?

It could be that the diarrhea worsening is independent of the metronidazole as this drug does not help all cases of diarrhea, dependent on the cause. But since it is new it would be best to stop until you can speak with your vet. Has your kitty had a work up for these symptoms? Chronic vomiting and diarrhea are common symptoms of several things, but most notably GI disease. It would be abnormal for a cat to need chronic medication for vomiting unless there is a disease process there. Just to help a little, a work up for an older kitty with these signs could include bloodwork with thyroid testing, an abdominal ultrasound, and sampling if needed (dependent on ultrasound). If there is an underlying disease that can be treated your kitty may feel better and need less medications eventually. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hi and thank you for using PetCoach. I am sorry to hear that Beau is having diarrhea. Since, Beau has only been on metronidazole for one day, I would continue it as it may not have started to work yet. It typically takes 24-48 hours to see any changes. However, if Beau stops eating, is lethargic or has blood in his stool, I would reach out to your veterinarian again and let them know. Beau may need another physical exam or other medications. Here is an article on diarrhea in cats that may be helpful for you and Beau: https://www.petcoach.co/article/diarrhea-in-cats/ Good luck and I hope he feels better soon!

I am sorry Damian does not feel well. I would recommend recontacting the vet to let them know Damian feels worse. Typically metronidazole works with in 24-48 hours. Typically if he is having liquid diarrhea he is not constipated. I would make sure a fecal is negative for parasites like coccidia. He might need deworming for coccidia since he is you. I would feed him the new food and you can start with a small amount of pedialyte however if he is still not improving I recommend taking him back to a veterinarian for more testing like bloodwork.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Since you are in day 1 of the antibiotics I think it would be fair to give it a bit more time to see if Musika gets better. You can try to entice his appetite with things like tuna, tuna water and chicken. If his appetite does not improve by tomorrow, let your veterinarian know as anorexia can be detrimental to a cat's health. Good luck and have a great day!

Without seeing Z in person, I can't say what is the best course of treatment for him. I'd trust your vet's decision, but if you do have questions, you can always take him into another vet for a second opinion.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I want Mittens to get checked out but it's not an emergency. The fact that he is eating and acting normally is huge and a very good thing. It could be that his GI tract has just been very upset by the antibiotics. While you gather the money for a recheck appointment, try a probiotic like Purina FortiFlora (use as directed on the box). You can also add a fiber supplement like Benefiber powder (tasteless- 1 tsp with each meal). Stay on the GI diet given by your vet as this is likely also helpful. If this seems to fix the problem, great! If not, get into the vet as soon as you are able to get other medications for the diarrhea. Best of luck to you and Mittens!

I wouldn't be too hard on the vet in this case, because shelter vets are quite used to treating these cases and metronidazole kills most of the offenders for causing diarrhea. You are right to be concerned about dehydration and how quickly the treatment should work. In most cases the diarrhea will improve within a day of starting treatment. It may be 3-5 days before his stools are back to normal though. If the explosive diarrhea continues for longer than a day after starting treatment and/or the kitten seems to be very depressed/inactive, then it would be best to return him to the shelter. There are some cases that require hospitalization, but I can assure you that most are treated well at home with the prescribed protocol. For now, I recommend following the veterinarians directions and calling the vet tomorrow if he seems to not be getting any better, or seems to be getting worse. Below is a link to an article about diarrhea in cats that may be helpful. https://www.petcoach.co/article/most-common-causes-of-diarrhea-in-cats/ I hope that helps and the foster kitten gets better soon.