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Old April 6th, 2009, 12:37 AM
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tbcookie tbcookie is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Maple Ridge, BC
Posts: 21
Hi, sugarcatmom & hazelrunpack. Thanks very much for the welcome, and for your replies.

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Why is he on metronidazole?
General was having soft stools and some diarrhea for a few weeks, and I'd been noticing fairly frequent occurances of mucus, sometimes with a touch of blood, in his stools. The vet prescribed metronizadole for this.

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It's possible he inhaled a bit, or it could also partly be a reaction to the terrible taste of Flagyl.
Yes, I understand that medication is nasty, bitter stuff (poor guy). I anticipatd a short term reaction to it and each time was sure to follow up with his favourite treats to help get the nasty taste of of his mouth.

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Here is a good video by Cornell University on the best way to administer liquid meds. As I'm sure you've now realized, you don't want to aim straight down the back of the throat, but rather at the pouch between the teeth and cheeks, or else across the tongue at an angle.

http://partnersah.vet.cornell.edu/pe...id_medications
Thank you for that. Yes, I came across that video (or a similar one) after the fact and sure wish I'd seen it beforehand. Sigh... :sad:

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Is he eating and drinking okay? Sometimes antibiotics can make cats feel nauseous. It might be better tolerated if given with food, if you aren't already.
He is. He still gets excited about treats and wet food at dinnertime. (He doesn't seem overly interested in his crunchies, though he does snack on these during the night.) If he were really ill, I would expect him to lose interest, but so far, nope!

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I wouldn't worry about hounding the vet, they are supposed to be there to help you, the client. To ease your mind, maybe you can take him in and have the vet listen to his lungs with a stethoscope. Here is a list of some symptoms of aspiration pneumonia: http://www.petplace.com/cats/aspirat...ats/page1.aspx
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Welcome, tbcookie! I agree with SCM--don't worry about hounding the vet. They should be there to help. (I hound ours unmercifully when there's something going on with our dogs that makes me uncomfortable. )
Thanks, I appreciate that. I couldn't help but feel like that receptionist was thinking she had an obsessive, paranoid client on her hands. But here's the thing, she's the receptionist! (Nothing against receptionists, of course.) There isn't any medical training to support her advice, so is it any wonder my fears weren't allayed? Ah well... the vet is supposed to be contacting me tomorrow anyway to follow up on General's "poop issues" so I'll be sure to discuss all of this with her.

I have to admit, I didn't actually give General his dose of medicine this morning, as I was supposed to; and I think I'm skipping tomorrow too. (He was supposed to have a dose this morning and a final one tomorrow morning. He's been on the meds since Tuesday.) I just couldn't bring myself to do it, with him obviously not feeling too hot, and considering how poorly the last dose went. I hope the vet doesn't come down on me too hard for that. He's been on it for five days now, and definitely, his stools are looking much improved. Also, I may just be imagining it, but with no meds this morning, General seems in a bit better spirits this evening. Still not entirely himself, but not quite as withdrawn.

The good news is that other than General exhibiting maybe a touch of depression, there are no other signs or symptoms from that list! Will see what the vet has to say tomorrow.

Thanks again to you both for listening. I'll keep you posted.

PS -- General just jumped up for a snuggle and to let me know it's time for bed. All good signs...
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