Hi, my 7mth old Bengal has had diarrhea ever since we bought him and after a month or so our other cat (an 11mth old tonkinese) also started developing problems. We did a standard poo test which came back positive for Giardia. We treated with panacur and metronodizole but the poo problem was still there. Finally I requested a PCR test from the vet which came back positive for TF and corona virus. I had to tell the vet that I thought he had TF and she was very resistant to the idea. When the diagnosis came through I spoke to another vet on the phone and she said there was no treatment for TF. Again I had to tell her that there was a treatment and that it was called ronizidole. I am surprised at the ignorance of vets in terms of diagnosis and treatment of the problem. Also it lets breeders off the hook if their cats have diarrhea because they are visually inspected and passed as 'vet checked' without any mention of these virusses. My Bengal came from a large and well known cattery in the West Midlands. I'm sure the breeder must have had an inkling that all was not well? Grrrrr (on several counts)

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Hi, interested to read both your posts. I certainly did do the rounds with the breeder and had the exact experience you described. It is immensely frustrating as it is a very unpleasant problem to deal with and I am dreading the ordeal of getting both my kitties medication down them, but relieved as well to have a diagnosis. Breeder never offered to take kitty back or help us resolve the problem but to be honest I really got the clear idea she was breeding for profit as opposed to love and there is a difference. It is a shame that inexperienced buyers don't know what to look for. She also mentioned that she weaned the kittens early which now would ring alarm bells - weaning early is often an attempt to prevent the passing on of the corona virus from mother to kiittens but considered rather inhumane and problematic in terms of socialisation issues later on. I do love our 9 mth kitty so much but he is an eccentric little thing - quite timid still and with some weird habits like suckling my daughters blanket. What to do?

Suckling a blanket is not weird nor unusual, it is very common in all breeds.

Toshi used to suckle my neck when he first came, thankfully he does not do that now as the associated kneading with the paws on the neck was really painful.

Having said that he does still suckle on the inside of my arms - when I lay on the couch watching TV he will curl up beside me and suckle and knead the soft skin in the inside of my elbow. It is still painful there but not as bad as on the neck and I grit my teeth and bare it because he clearly feels quite contented. He is 10 months old by the way

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Lollo

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Lollo