# My co-worker's 50 cats and Giardia **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 25, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784 "2009-03-25T20:27:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/21 "2009-03-26T15:20:55Z")
Here are some of her cats: [ladder\_cats | Karlen Sanberg | Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/karlen/3386991635/) Cool picture, but sheeesh!! ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/22 "2009-03-26T15:25:50Z")
> [@Smokinjbc](#): > > That really is awful- it’s bad enough when rescuers collect that many spay/neutered cats but to be completely out of control and producing more kittens? Any way to get a rescue group involved to at least help her place kittens and spay/neuter the adults she has? She’s in Brazil. I’m not sure what the options/attitudes are there. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/23 "2009-03-26T15:35:27Z")
I got it from ice made from Vietnamese river water. It was horrendous. I spent a week lying in a dark hotel room, in intestinal agony, crawling to the toilet every time I needed even so much as to fart, because I had no idea what would come out. Irritatingly I had the cure (Flagyl) in my medical kit the whole time, but was to sick to do any research on it. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/24 "2009-03-26T15:57:31Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I got it from ice made from Vietnamese river water. > > It was horrendous. I spent a week lying in a dark hotel room, in intestinal agony, crawling to the toilet every time I needed even so much as to fart, because I had no idea what would come out. > > Irritatingly I had the cure (Flagyl) in my medical kit the whole time, but was to sick to do any research on it. Wow. Sucks to be you, dude! ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/25 "2009-03-26T16:02:52Z")
I had it show up in a new kitten I had brought home and then a couple other cats were showing signs. Treating a bunch of cats is hard. I know some didn’t get all their doses because once you start giving the treatments the others disappear. Then I started showing signs. I took a dose of metronidazole, gagged repeatedly on the medication, couldn’t get the taste out of my mouth for a day and didn’t take any more doses but my signs cleared up. So either one dose cleared it or I never actually had it, and just had sympathy or stress related diarrhea. I don’t know if it would work for your friend in Brazil but there are veterinary compounding shops that can make metronidazole into a flavored liquid which might be easier to give since the stuff used to make the liquid is not as bitter as the stuff in the pill. The pills are nasty and it’s almost impossible to get one into a cat without them tasting it and then drooling or gagging afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/26 "2009-03-26T16:05:22Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > I had it show up in a new kitten I had brought home and then a couple other cats were showing signs. Treating a bunch of cats is hard. I know some didn’t get all their doses because once you start giving the treatments the others disappear. Then I started showing signs. I took a dose of metronidazole, gagged repeatedly on the medication, couldn’t get the taste out of my mouth for a day and didn’t take any more doses but my signs cleared up. So either one dose cleared it or I never actually had it, and just had sympathy or stress related diarrhea. > > I don’t know if it would work for your friend in Brazil but there are veterinary compounding shops that can make metronidazole into a flavored liquid which might be easier to give since the stuff used to make the liquid is not as bitter as the stuff in the pill. The pills are nasty and it’s almost impossible to get one into a cat without them tasting it and then drooling or gagging afterwards. I’ll mention this to her. She told me she crushed the pill and added it to water, and then syringed it into the cats. Not sure if that’s a good long-term approach or not. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/27 "2009-03-26T16:11:21Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I’ll mention this to her. She told me she crushed the pill and added it to water, and then syringed it into the cats. Not sure if that’s a good long-term approach or not. Not really because it’s just prolonging their exposure to the nastiness of the pill and making it more likely they will drool or even vomit and eventually they’ll just start to drool when they see the syringe. Did I mention how nasty that stuff it? God, it’s nasty. The compounded liquid uses a less bitter form of metronidazole. I have no idea why they can’t make the pills from that formula, maybe it just won’t go into a pill form? ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/28 "2009-03-26T18:14:46Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Yeah. She’s a good kid, but she just let it get out of hand. Yeah, it sounds like this needs to be addressed before the giardia can be dealt with. There’s no way for one person to keep that many animals in close quarters without disease and suffering running rampant. Maybe one of these organizations can help with finding low priced spay/neuter options: [http://www.pea.org.br/cuidados/esterilizacao.htm](http://www.pea.org.br/cuidados/esterilizacao.htm) [http://www.arcabrasil.org.br/english/index.htm](http://www.arcabrasil.org.br/english/index.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/29 "2009-03-26T18:23:57Z")
> [@horsetech](#): > > Crude nitpick – isn’t it more like shitting piss? Beat me to it. Shitting piss is bad, but it seems to me pissing shit would be worse. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/30 "2009-03-26T18:26:10Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > she’s having a helluva time jamming the pills down the cats’ throats. If she can get them in Brazil, Greenies Pill Pockets might be the answer to that problem. They’re soft cat treats that are shaped so you can hide a pill inside them. My Luna the Connoisseur of Cat Treats says they’re delicious. When I had to give her an antibiotic for a few days, she _begged_ for it every day because of the Pill Pockets. > [@](#): > > Here are some of her cats: [Oops! | Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/karlen/3386991635/) > Cool picture, but sheeesh!! They’re meezers! Luna is a Siamese mix, so it makes me sad to see Siamese suffering with a cat hoarder… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/31 "2009-03-26T18:30:39Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > Here are some of her cats: [ladder\_cats | Karlen Sanberg | Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/karlen/3386991635/) > Cool picture, but sheeesh!! Also: 500+ pics and ONLY ONE OF THE CATS? There are issues here, and they run deep. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/32 "2009-03-26T19:10:51Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > Also: 500+ pics and ONLY ONE OF THE CATS? > > There are issues here, and they run deep. I have pics of my cats, and actually, additional pics of her cats (and kittens…oh, the kittens) on my other computer. I haven’t put them on Flickr, but damn, they’re cute. It just kills me that this is only about a third of her pile o’ kitties. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/33 "2009-03-26T19:17:29Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > If she can get them in Brazil, Greenies Pill Pockets might be the answer to that problem. They’re soft cat treats that are shaped so you can hide a pill inside them. My Luna the Connoisseur of Cat Treats says they’re delicious. When I had to give her an antibiotic for a few days, she _begged_ for it every day because of the Pill Pockets. > > They’re meezers! Luna is a Siamese mix, so it makes me sad to see Siamese suffering with a cat hoarder… ☹ I think she’s really good to them. Her house doesn’t appear to be a shithole based on the pics I’ve seen. It’s just full of cats. I’m not making excuses for her getting in over her head, but it’s not as bad as some Crazy Cat Lady scenarios you see on the nightly news. Her husband helps her, and she’s young enough to have the energy to handle the daily cat box duties, etc. I’ll tell her about those pill pockets. I’d imagine they have something similar if not the real McCoy. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/34 "2009-03-26T19:39:11Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I’ll tell her about those pill pockets. I’d imagine they have something similar if not the real McCoy. [Here’s a picture of them from the Greenies web site.](http://www.greenies.com/en_us/Products/FelinePillPockets.aspx) They were recommended to me by my vet. Luna recommends the chicken flavor. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/35 "2009-03-26T19:55:12Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > [Here’s a picture of them from the Greenies web site.](http://www.greenies.com/en_us/Products/FelinePillPockets.aspx) They were recommended to me by my vet. Luna recommends the chicken flavor. Link sent to the Brazil Nut. Thank you!!! ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/36 "2009-03-26T20:01:32Z")
I don’t know what room in the house that picture was taken in, but you can see brown grossness on the white wall behind the ladder, probably residue from the cat’s fur, skin cells & general nastiness. It may not be as bad as places I’ve seen on TV, but I wouldn’t say that’s clean. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/37 "2009-03-26T20:15:33Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > I don’t know what room in the house that picture was taken in, but you can see brown grossness on the white wall behind the ladder, probably residue from the cat’s fur, skin cells & general nastiness. It may not be as bad as places I’ve seen on TV, but I wouldn’t say that’s clean. That photo was taken outside. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/38 "2009-03-26T20:29:24Z")
Here’s one from inside the house: [Couch\_Cats | Karlen Sanberg | Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/karlen/3387606381/) It’s cleaner than my house! ---
**Author:** ![Amber\_in\_Treasury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Amber\_in\_Treasury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amber_in_Treasury)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/39 "2009-03-27T14:35:00Z")
All the best to the cats and the cat lady, but…50 cats? Wow. How in the hell do you manage that? I mean, even if your house is big and roomy, it can’t be all that easy. And if her home is as clean as you say, Kalhoun, then props to her. Must be quite some organizational talent. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784/40 "2009-03-27T14:43:28Z")
> [@Amber\_in\_Treasury](#): > > All the best to the cats and the cat lady, but…50 cats? Wow. How in the hell do you manage that? I mean, even if your house is big and roomy, it can’t be all that easy. And if her home is as clean as you say, Kalhoun, then props to her. Must be quite some organizational talent. I think the whole “cat thing” is different there. They live inside/outside for the most part. I think she lives in an apartment, actually. I couldnt’ do it. I wouldn’t want to devote that much time to it. No way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-co-workers-50-cats-and-giardia/490784.md?page=3)