My dog has coccidia. Is metronidazole truly effective? She eats poop!

If it were my kitty I would start the metronidazole right away. Metronidazole adverse reactions are not that common and it can at least help with the inflammation of the gut that is caused by the coccidia until the proper dewormer is made available. I hope that your kitty is able to make a full and speedy recovery. Best wishes and take care!

As long as Bobo is eating and drinking, playful, and overall acting normal, I wouldn't be worried at all :) Coccidia can take a while to clear up in some cases, up to 10-14 days after starting Albon. The Flagyl should also help, but it often takes at least 48 hours to begin having any effect. So as long as your puppy is acting fine, I would just continue the medication as directed for the full course of treatment. If his stool is still runny once he has completed all of his medication, take him back to your vet for a recheck. If he still has coccidia at that point, he may need treatment with a different drug such as ponazuril to clear the infection.

Sorry Jake is having problems. Metronidazole is often used to treat diarrhea in dogs. It is not common for metronidazole to cause vomiting. However, the underlying CAUSE of the diarrhea is usually some form of gastroenteritis which is inflammation of the stomach and intestine. Gastroenteritis often includes vomiting and can occur for many reasons including: bacterial imbalance, viral infections such as parvovirus (Jake is too old for this to be a concern) ingesting non-food items such as trash or mulch inflammatory bowel disease cancer in the GI tract intestinal parasites At higher doses, metronidazole can cause "grogginess" or an unsteady gait. If he is showing those signs, discontinue the metronidazole. Correct, I would hold off on Pepto, but Pepcid AC is fine. I hope I've answered your questions, and I apologize that we did not get to your question sooner. Please feel free to post again if you still have questions or concerns with Jake. Thanks for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Yes, metronidazole can cause diarrhea. If you are seeing diarrhea or vomiting while on this antibiotic I would recommend discontinuing the drug and contacting the prescribing veterinarian to discuss this further. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I would add in a probiotics such as Purina fortiflora as well.

Hi! I would say that it is likely ok. Sometimes it takes a bit longer to see results. If it is just soft and Snowball is otherwise fine, I would just give it a few days before getting concerned. Keep in mind that metronidazole is not always a curative medication for diarrhea but rather an antibiotic with anti-inflammatory properties that help with colitis. This means that it will not treat an underlying disease every time. Perhaps try a few days on a bland diet mostly composed of boiled chicken or turkey and rice. If no resolution within a few days, it may be appropriate to start her on a probiotic or try a different medication such as Tylosin. Best of luck with her!

Giardia can be a little challenging to resolve, but I'm not sure why it would take months. It is possible for dogs to reinfect themselves, so that may be your veterinarian's concern if Kipper had a severe infection. Flagyl (which you spelled correctly) does not always work, so sometimes we combine it with Fenbendazole for better results. I am attaching a link to a handout below with more information about Giardia. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2386 I sympathize with Kipper not being able to go to daycare. My youngest dog lives to go to daycare with his friends. I would ask your veterinarian why they think this will take months to resolve with the new medication and what testing you should be doing to make sure the infection is improving and that there isn't another problem going on. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

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!