Thread: How common is Giardia in Purebreed kittens?

Giardia is a protozoal parasite that is most common in multi cat communities of all breeds.

Its often found among feral cats, in cat adoption centres, multi cat households etc. It can be highly infectious between cats and sadly some cats can show no symptoms and yet still "shed" the parasite into the environment for other cats to come into contact with and thus be infected by.

it is seen in all breeds of cat (moggies included) and im not sure that there are any studies that have looked into the incidence in pedigree V's non pedigree cats but i would hazzard a guess that well raised pedigree cats would be no more likely to carry giardia than any other cat.

the problem here is that "some" breeders of pedigree cats are purely out to try to make money. they have far too many cats for the space they have, their health plans for their cats are minimal or non existant and their standards of hygine fall well below ideal, and thus you create an environment in which giardia infection may well become more common.

so if you are buying a kitten from someone who falls into this catergory, or from a overcrowded rescue centre or taking one in from a feral colony. be on the lookout for giardia. equally, if you have a multicat household and cats that have free accsess to outdoors you may well have a giardia shedding cat within your own colony.

if you are treating one cat, all cats in thehousehold must be treated and the hygine measures must be super strict.

sounds like your vet is on the right track with it but keep going with it, it can be a long haul and a tricky parasite to get rid of. Hope thats of some help.

hope your baby boy is soon recovered. he is really stunning