Dear Members of the Forum,
We are new to this excellent website and new to the Bengal cats world. We bought our kittens, Merleau (girl) and Ponty (boy) only 5 weeks ago from a registered breeder. They are 5 months now. From day one they suffered from diarrhoea, but the breeder, who was very supportive then (guaranteed 24/7 support in our purchase contract), told us that is can happen due to stress, and it would pass if we give them rice and fish for a few days. It didn't pass, and we took them to a vet, they received a course of antibiotics and the sample was sent to a lab. The problem stopped after the medicines, but the results show that they are infected with FT, Giardia and Salmonella. We are devastated....It looks these viruses cannot be cured, while giardia and salmonella can be dangerous to people too.
We don't know what to do....our breeder was informed, but she didn't take any action. Yet this is not about the breeder (who should stop selling the other kittens, I guess, until it is resolved). It is about the health and well being of our kittens, who do not deserve this...
In addition, we have adult daughters who will have their own children soon, and we are not sure it we can expose their babies to the infected kittens, we don't know how to protect the infection from spreading. They are indoor kittens, so they would never go outside, and they had all jabs required. Our vet told us to use gloves at most times when we are touching the kittens or changing their trays....but I cannot imagine living with them 'through the gloves', and how to protect the new babies in the family?

We were told that medicines will keep the kittens running for a long time, and they seem to be completely oblivious and very happy as for now, but at some point they will start deteriorating, yes?

We never thought that having kittens will be an effortless job and we would do anything to keep them healthy, we had a Siamese beauty before who died of kidneys' failure, and we know what long stays in the cats hospital are like.... Yet these ones are so young and came from a registered breeder....Please please advice us on how we can adjust our life to this problem and how can we help Merleau and Ponty to have a happy life.

Thank you very much indeed.
Marta and Matthew

I have replied to the sticky on TF regarding Ronidazole.

Just to add... wearing gloves for handling the kittens at all is a complete over-reaction. Yes, when doing litter trays etc... but to wear gloves for cuddling or playing with your kittens is not necessary... unless the vet thinks you are going to completely gown up and keep them confined to a sterile box.... gloves will not do anything in protecting you... Good hand hygiene will.

Salmonella is actually found in a lot of cats.... so not a complete surprise really... unlucky and not nice but not really that out of the ordinary. I suspect, when the TF and Giardia are dealt with, the Salmonella will clear as well... it is probably being shed because of the other two and once those have gone, your kittens will find clearing Salmonella much easier.

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Lollo

I second the above two responses and I have personally dealt with the TF and Giardia successfully.
I can totally sympathise with you, you bring home a lovely kitten, its supposed to be all happy and suddenly they aren't perfect and have a nasty infection/disease. My would traipse runny poo all over the house - it was horrendous - I would have to wipe their bottoms, that was pretty bad for cats who are trying to get used to me.

They are treatable - dont panic. The RDZ is stressful to administer, foul tasting to the cats - i had to mask mine in liquid treat gel, and i was petrified that they might get a reaction to it. I have to say on this forum I haven't seen someone say that their cats had a reaction - just ensure your vets get the right dosage.

At least you've got the diagnosis quickly - many on here have to fight their vets to get the tests done and some have a false negative.

Dear Members,
Thank you so much for your replies. They gave me some hope and confidence to deal with this triple virus. I still have a few question regarding the situation.
I am still not sure about the threat Salmonella can cause to humans and how to limit the spread. Should we (all family members who have been in touch with them) have a Salmonella rest done? It is particularly important for me to know that we are not careers, as we will be having grand children (and then again a few years time again). Should the cats and us be checked every few years - someone on this forum (thank you very much for a helpful response) emphasised that Salmonella is NOT curable. Does it mean it will come back?
We have given up on super extra protection - we cannot keep them in one room, we cannot clean ALL
surfaces all the time. We wash out hands with antibacterial wash and we wash their trays with boiling water and bleach solution, but we cannot keep the whole house disinfected, it is impossible. Our breeder got in touch and kind of suggested they could have caught salmonella in our house after their arrival - that is something which left us speechless... We live in London and our vet will have to report the case anyway. We are also worried that so many other infected kittens could have been sold to new owners in the meantime.
The breeder also asked me if we are sure that the results are not false negative. I am afraid I don't understand what it means, this terms appeared in the last response too. Does it mean that the test had an error?
I am sure there will be more tests in this situation anyway. They are very expensive, so we have to plan it well.
The last but not least: we are very concerned that the medicine administration will affect the kittens' approach to us. We had to apply antibiotics to them on the 4th day of their arrival as they had diarhea from the first moment, and they didn't trust us for weeks after that. Ponty keeps at a distance until now. He doesn't want to be touched, doesn't sleep with us, and is a bit aggressive. What if all these qualities become even deeper after the treatment? We know there is no other choice but we would very much appreciate your advice on how to reduce those side effects and make the treatment more bearable. Should someone be with them at all times on the first days of the treatment to observe them?

Thank you so much, Guys, for your expert knowledge which you share with others, this website really helps in most difficult scenarios related to cats' life conditions.

As I previously stated Salmonella is a threat to those in a high risk medical and age bracket.

I shall tell you my experience as I think it will help you more from someone who has had a cat test positive for Salmonella.

I bought in a kitten from another breeder, the kitten had runny poop when he arrived - I put this down to stress, but as normal I took him for his vet check after a couple of days. He did a poop just before going to the vets so I grabbed the sample and took it with me for a full panel (as I have a multicat household) The panel covered all the nasties plus I requested TF. His breeder TF tested the litter but I got it done anyway because if anything was going to shed it would be the stress of a new home.

Everything came back negative apart from Salmonella. As you are in the UK by law your vet should have sent the sample off to a government lab as I previously mentioned to isolate the strain. Can you please check with your vet that this has been done and what is the outcome.

The labs will give an advisory to your vet on how to deal with the situation - unfortunately more geared to cattle for example having a 'boot dip' before entering the barn

In reality lets look at how it is spread : Simple - POO! The reason I suggested confining your cats is because they have runny poop, they are going in the litter tray, doing a poop, the poop is not solid so chances are making a mess within the litter tray. They then get bits of litter on their feet and walk this around your house. If the salmonella is present the reality of this is that it isn't great - it can be transmitted to humans and those in the at risk groups are more susceptible - end of.

It is up to you how you deal with this in your environment. I had my kitten in a room, I cleaned and bleached his litter tray daily, I followed a correct hand wash routine exiting the room and wore gloves when dealing with the litter tray & steam cleaned the floor and used a proper disinfectant on all surfaces that kills salmonella, MRSA, Ecoli etc

My 8 year old nephew had been in contact with the kitten and I had to inform his dad to keep an eye on him as he was in the 'at risk' group. I also didn't have visits from him until I got a negative re test.

After 3 weeks I re tested and the Salmonella was gone, he was then retested a couple of months later and still negative. I do routine tests to make sure. I do feel I might have caught the salmonella in a transient state rather then it actually latching on to his gut but I was also aware of the possible implications should it be a serious case.

It is upto you how you deal with it and the housekeeping in your own home.

So sorry to hear you are going through this nightmare!

I hope you get your kittens on the correct medication and on the road to recovery soon.

My two are currently on a two week course of Ronidazole for TF and I am happy to report that there have been NO side effects. The stinky, bloody diarrhoea (and boy does it smell) disappeared after day two of taking the medication. They finish the ronidazole tomorrow evening.

I am keeping everything crossed for you. Please keep us updated on their progress

Lisa
x

To be honest, there is no point testing your poo as you would be symptomatic if you had it.

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Lollo

I have sent you a pm Merleau&Ponty

Salmonella is present in chickens... all of them.
Problems arise from too much Salmonella bacteria and circumstances that might prevent the immune system killing the bacteria (its not a virus) off and beating the infection down.

Salmonella will be killed in time by a healthy immune system. Humans or kitty.
Combating dehydration is important due to fluid loss caused by the symptoms.

Salmonella poisoning in humans is common, you have prolly had it at some point? It causes vomiting and diarrhoea like you would expect from a ''tummy bug''.
It really only becomes more serious in those with weak immune system.
Illness from eating chicken infected with high levels of Salmonella before cooking can still happen due to the toxins released by dead Salmonella bacteria when destroyed during cooking.
This is a much more temporary sickness that requires no fighting to get rid of (by the body).. still unpleasant though.

Kittys take in Salmonella from chicken/poultry... the breeder feeding raw is most likely.
Feeding raw firms up stools and I suspect thats what has happened here.

Kittys are even better at killing off Salmonella than we humans are ... however with multiple infections of different bacteria they cant focus on the Salmonella alone.

There are several members here with a medical background that can advise and alleviate concerns. (quiz your vet too if you are worried and unsure what to do)
Let us know how you are dealing with dehydration. Its very dangerous for kittens.
best wishes

Thank you for all advice and support. Today we came from a surgary and we got the treatment, not exactly what we expected
(I remembered that we got a warning on this forum not to apply antibiotics for salmonella, but our vet prescribed it).
It also appeared that our kittens have Feline Coronovirus on top of Salmonella and Giardia, and another test is needed for Tf, which they are not sure about.... (how is it possible?) The tests they did were not showing sensitivity, and we need another set after the course of the current meds.
So they got:
Metronidazole 200mg; Baytril 15 mg; and Panacur - three gradients once a day..
I cannot comment on this choice as I have no knowledge in this area, but if you are so kind to share your views on this treatment, please do, we feel quite helpless. I mentioned it to the vet that we have read about a 'no-antibiotic' for salmonella, but he said that a risk of developing resistance arises only in the prolonged periods of application, not to a week-long or two dosage.

We have to administer them tablets 4 times a day and Panacur paste once a day. It is such a pain to watch their fear.
They don't even know us well enough yet to trust us, they are still adapting, and we have to do it to them, will they recover? They already started hiding under the sofa after the first day....

If only it helped...

Thanks a lot, Guys...

They will be ok and love you. It sometimes helps to follow up the medicine with a treat or some playtime so they don't associate you only with medicine. When they are feeling better and you aren't worrying, you will get more of the cat expierence you are loooking for regarding the interaction and kitty love. :)

I am confused... i thought they had TF although i read that you wrote FT instead, i thought that was a typo.

After giving all of these things you will have to wait at least 7 days, preferably 14 to test for TF because it will be stunned (but not killed) by all the antibiotics.

I'm not entirely sure they are all necessary really. Panacur for Giardia but what are the others for?

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Lollo

Yes, in your original post, you said that they had TF so I am confused now too!!

As Lollo says, you really need to leave 14 days before sending off the test for TF so you do not get a false negative result.

I hope they are feeling better soon.

Lisa
x

I just hope your vet has advised you correctly. The DEFRA lab makes an advisory for treatment on Salmonella and it is to not give antis.
I also hope your vet has followed procedure and sent the samples as I mentioned to have the strain isolated - if not they are breaking the law.