Tritrichomonas Foetus - "TF" in cats

[WhiteFlower]

Please help

I'm in South Africa and there is almost no information here on TF. Even my vet didn't know anything about it and resorted to the internet.

I am adopting an 8 year old male Devon Rex with a TF infection and chronic, persistant diarreah. If I don't, he'll be sent to a shelter and probably put down.

I can hardly find any information on how to live with a incontinent pet anywhere on the web. I found a website on pet diapers but I'm not sure whether they are for real. Besides, he is a tiny cat and I doubt whether they would fit him.

The owner suggested keeping him confined to one bedroom but I think that's really cruel towards the kitty. Apparently it's so bad that sometimes he can't make it anywhere near his litter box.

He has already had the TF for 18 months now and RDZ is not available anywhere in South Africa.

How do I make him comfortable and at the same time allow him to be part of the family? Unfortunately we have these beechwood laminated floors at home and my husband is worried they'll be stained by 'messes' everywhere.

I hope you can give me some advice.

[sasvermont]

Whiteflower,

Please contact Biolabs via email, for test pouches. You must use a vet to administer the meds and tests.....unless you are a breeder with total knowledge.

If you get no satisfaction, please let me know. I will help with the testing kits and or the medication. Please re-read the post from [email protected] and email him too, if need be.

Also, try a product that adds fiber to the stool, such as Medimucal (spelling)...it has helped my cat in the mean time.

By the way folks, Miley the cats' first test results were negative. I am not sure if I am happy or sad. I may ask the vet if he can just go ahead and treat her with the meds to see if it helps. The drug is not harmful.

I have a vet appt. on Saturday for Chloe and Juni cats, and will discuss the TF thing with the vet, then.

[AbbyMom]

WhiteFlower, another member of this forum uses diapers for her cat scooter. Here's a link to some pictures of her:

http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...hlight=scooter

I understand Scooter has gotten used to them and the freedom that comes with the diapers.

Good luck

Pat

[sasvermont]

When I spoke with the vet today, we decided to take a new approach to Miley and her problems with her stools. Miley has tested negative, had 10 days of flagyl to try to calm her colon down and now we have decided to change her diet yet again. She (and the others) will be on Science Diet ZD (hypo-allergetic)..... I am also going to try to give her some plain yogurt with Medimucil added. I think I will contact my breeder to see if more TF testing is realistic.

I am happy Miley does not have it, but unhappy that we are still searching for the answer.

[Barbara]

I was talking to my vet about the Tritricho thingie. She knew about it but she said to her opinion the problem was another one in most cases: you (and the cats) have most bacteria in their colon but if the colon flora is changed by meds or a certain diet it gets out of balance and then the bad bacteria can proliferate and become dangerous.
She said that in a case like this she would always check the diet first and work on that.
I just had asked her because I wanted to know and I always find her very well informed.

So I hope the new diet does good things to my sweet Miley girl.

[snorkmaiden]

Please help

I'm in South Africa and there is almost no information here on TF. Even my vet didn't know anything about it and resorted to the internet.

I am adopting an 8 year old male Devon Rex with a TF infection and chronic, persistant diarreah. If I don't, he'll be sent to a shelter and probably put down.

I can hardly find any information on how to live with a incontinent pet anywhere on the web. I found a website on pet diapers but I'm not sure whether they are for real. Besides, he is a tiny cat and I doubt whether they would fit him.

The owner suggested keeping him confined to one bedroom but I think that's really cruel towards the kitty. Apparently it's so bad that sometimes he can't make it anywhere near his litter box.

He has already had the TF for 18 months now and RDZ is not available anywhere in South Africa.

How do I make him comfortable and at the same time allow him to be part of the family? Unfortunately we have these beechwood laminated floors at home and my husband is worried they'll be stained by 'messes' everywhere.

I hope you can give me some advice.

Whiteflower, my cat had TF for 18 months before he was diagnosed. While you are working on getting the test kits and treatment, you might want to try switching to a raw food diet. If you don't want to go raw and you have grainless canned foods available to you in South Africa you could try those instead. My TF boy managed three months without diarrhea on grainless canned cat food before his symptoms returned. The symptoms will often return with diet change or stress.

After finding Dave's (Highgait Paws Cattery)wonderful site I decided to create my own to try and help owners with TF cats, or owners who suspect their cats may have TF find the information they need a little more quickly.

www.tffelines.com the links are there for Biomed Diagnostics and for Dr. Gookin's articles along with some more info on the test kits. Hope this helps.