Instead, this end-of-year yarn will be somewhat different in tone, topic and timbre. In fact, as years go, I think I'll be pretty glad to see the back of this one! No, it's been fine most of the time, it's just that right towards the end we received a visit from an old acquaintance, which means that my usual Yuletide excitement has been assuredly tainted by anxiety. Because that's what giardia brings with it.
(BTW, Giardia is a tiny germ that causes the diarrheal disease giardiasis)
Now that I think of it - maybe the shitshow that is giardiasis is actually quite fitting for the end of the year, because in some cultures the nativity scene always includes a defecating man - the Caganer, as he's known in Catalonia, for example. So - some might say we're having a right proper Christmas😉
Admittedly, I have not witnessed most of the feline diseases under the sun, but from what I have seen, giardiasis is a bitch. And it's mostly because of the anxiety involved. Yes, the unholy amount of smelly excrement is often not the worst thing about it! You see, after you've finished with treatment (which takes around 5-7 days initially), you have to wait for 10-14 days before you can get your feline(s) tested again. So, of course, that means that you have about 2 weeks of not knowing whether what you did to treat the cats has been of any help at all. And then, once you finally get the re-tests done, if they're negative - woohoo! However, if they're positive - you're back to treatment, then back to waiting, then back to re-testing, and so on. Fun and games - no, sorry, not with this thing around.
This is actually our third time having giardia in the house (and the second time this year!). The first occasion was in August 2020, with Tiger, Grace and Morty:
And that was some baptism of fire! Because Morty's case was the worst I've seen (out of 12 kittens, so far). One evening the poor animal literally exploded from both ends all over the bathroom walls, floor and bathtub. I had not seen anything like it ever before (or after, so far;). It was reminiscent of the scene in South Park where Mr Hankey, the Christmas Poo visits Kyle in the bathroom. Nonetheless, it is a horrible feeling of helplessness and uselessness, when you just don't know how to relieve a little creature's suffering. You might end up feeling almost as bad mentally as he is feeling physically.
But then again, there's a reason 'toilet humour' is a common phrase - because many things to do with excreta are indeed funny, even if it's just because you choose to laugh instead of crying (when you're trying to soak a big lump of dried poo off a tiny kitten's whisker, for instance). So, when we took Morty to the vets to see what's wrong with him, I hadn't collected a poo sample from him, as I hadn't even heard of giardiasis back then. However, on the road, my fellow volunteer had to stop the car so we could clean the carrier and Morty himself - for he had given us the biggest fecal sample in history:) We literally handed the vets a reusable plastic shopping bag to test (well, perhaps formerly reusable😉)!
Once we had gotten the positive result from the test, the vets proceeded to prescribe meds for the three amigos, and to scare the bejesus out of me. They told me that it's very hard to fight giardiasis, that it can take months (apparently one of them had had to deal with it for 6 months with their own cats in the past), etc. They also told me that there actually isn't a cure for giardiasis specifically, so you just use certain antibiotics and usually also a wormer. And lots of thoughts and prayers, if you're that way inclined, I guess;)
Anyway, three bouts later, here's a couple of things I've learnt about living with giardiasis:
*The cats' poo can stink horribly - yes, all poos stink, but this is a bit different, it kind of makes you think - surely this can't be right, what on earth died in there?
*You have to accept that for some time you will be just a cleaner (and it's not always pretty). Yes, bleach will be your best buddy for a while - I actually add a little bleach also to the wash with any kitten bedding/rugs/cushions etc, and the washes are done at higher temperatures than usual. 3 days into the treatment (when you often notice the difference in their stool consistency) I do a thorough clean of their living quarters, including their litter trays, which get filled with brand new litter, too. The next big clean comes when we finish the treatment. And then another one 4-5 days after that. Yeah, this 'lifestyle' would be perfect for someone who really enjoys cleaning (I'm sure they're out there somewhere:), I just grin and bear it.
Sometimes, of course, you have to clean the kittens themselves, too. And not just their whiskers;) But (I know, I could say 'however', but I just can't, you understand:) it's not that difficult to give the smaller kittens a bum bath with some warm water in the sink. Some of them actually don't mind it!
*Although the bad cases usually tend do have slimy, even liquid poo, perhaps with a green hue and some blood in it, sometimes looks can deceive. In our recent lot of giardiasis patients, I took Ellen's sample with me to get tested alongside Chloe's just in case, just because she happened to go as we were about to leave for the vet's. And hers came back positive almost immediately, even though I never even suspected that there could've been anything amiss about her (just like with Poppy before). So, it turns out, looks really aren't everything😉
*If you're prone to self-doubt, expect to have a lot of that hanging around - even if it's simply about measuring out the meds. Like when you have a 250 mg tablet, and you need to figure out how to give 2/3 of a quarter of it per two cats twice a day and 2 quarters and a half a quarter of it for two other cats twice a day. And all you're armed with are your aging eyes and a little knife. As you can imagine, doubt and questions about the efficacy of your actions will be readily available😉
Here's the drugging plan I drew up for our first giardiasis patients (they really hit them hard with drugs the first time around):
*You might want to welcome waiting into your life, and not the fun kind you might be enjoying around Xmas time. No, there will be lots of tedious waiting for the cats to produce stool samples, or waiting for the floors to dry so you can let the cats back in to their room and go on with your day, for example. So, brace yourself;)
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| This is me killing time waiting for Grace to give us a sample (the boys had done their bit in a timely manner), while she just wanted me to keep reading to her about her and her ilk;) |
Anyway, we soon discovered that baby monitors are a great help - this way you don't have to actually spend all your day near their toilet, but can just listen out for the all-familiar rustling sounds through the speaker. This was our poop patrol set-up this time:
Oh yes, it's a life of glamour we lead😁
But (and yes, we're butt-punning again - well, it is Christmas, after all), it's only natural, it's just a bit of poo. And when, after all the cleaning and waiting and worrying, you get the negative test result(s) at the end - the sense of joy and relief you feel is quite something, it's quite a high! I highly recommend that feeling😊
Oh, and then there's the issue of cats as patients. Despite all logic, cats often don't make the most patient patients - you'd think they'd be natural at it, what with practising patience daily for hours on end. No, they also have a radar for meds:) They really see you coming!
Broadly speaking, I have observed three types of drug takers among cats:
1) The easy-going, greedy type (they don't really mind what goes into their mouth, as long as it somewhat resembles foodstuff:) Among all our giardiasis patients, in this category I would place Morty, Grace, Lily, Eden and Chloe. They just want to get on with things, basically.
2) The reluctant drug-taker (the one that just does not want to hear anything about any meds coming anywhere near them). They need some serious coaxing or sometimes even cocooning in a bath towel to make things happen. In this category we've had Tiger, George, Meg, Jake, Ellen.
3) The tricky type (the ones that do not take kindly to having been stopped in their tracks for some strange new no-fun-at-all activity) - they are different from the reluctant ones because they don't necessarily mind the drugs per se, they just don't like to be bothered with weird stuff, so they will try their hardest to get out of this unpleasant/uninteresting situation. With them, you might need some time to figure out how the process will work - with Pippa I found that I needed more patience than I can usually muster, as she could easily have me holding her mouth shut with the tablet in it for quite a while (it's a pretty standard medicating practice), and then run away and spit it out in the distance. With Gleeson it took me quite a few goes to find out that he had to be wrapped in a towel, facing me (usually I approach them with drugs from behind to reduce unnecessary distractions), and then he was OK to accept anything!
So, it seems that there are some fun and games involved even in this. You get to test your creativity, you learn lots more about your foster kitties (and these regular medication rituals actually help with bonding, too, should that be an issue), and, to get their bowels moving, you of course get to have a lot of fun play time with them! Can't really complain, can you?
Bon Nadal! as the Caganer would say😸
P.S. According to some sources, the stool spiral that the Caganer produces in the nativity scene is a gift for baby Jesus - not everyone could afford to bring expensive stuff like frankincense or gold! So there - if it was good enough for Jesus, we certainly shouldn't turn our noses up at it😉
And ultimately, to paraphrase the comedy classic with which I'll end this scat-smeared post, we could say that when you look at it - life's a piece of shit! And as it often happens, adversities can force us to look for the bright side, to search for the light at the end of a sewer pipe.
All together now:
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