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My cat has diarrhea, vet prescribed metronidazole. Is it right?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 7.7 lbs

Good evening, we are on the tail end of a vomiting/loss of appetite incident with our cat. Tests inconclusive, blood good. Vet thought possible IBD. We explored food allergy and made some changes. He is improving/becoming more like himself. He did develop some diarrhea after a couple doses of buprenorphine which we then stopped. The diarrhea appears to be possibly correcting but on a recheck this eve vet prescribed metronidazole. No fever ?? Possible side effects seem counterintuitive. Thoughts?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on November 6th, 2019

Without seeing Z in person, I can't say what is the best course of treatment for him. I'd trust your vet's decision, but if you do have questions, you can always take him into another vet for a second opinion.

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1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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Yesterday he was prescribed Metronidazole Suspension for diarrhea that has been getting worse off and on over the last few weeks. He also takes Metoclopramide to prevent vomiting on a regular basis. Since starting the Metronidazole yesterday the diar
It could be that the diarrhea worsening is independent of the metronidazole as this drug does not help all cases of diarrhea, dependent on the cause. But since it is new it would be best to stop until you can speak with your vet. Has your kitty had a work up for these symptoms? Chronic vomiting and diarrhea are common symptoms of several things, but most notably GI disease. It would be abnormal for a cat to need chronic medication for vomiting unless there is a disease process there. Just to help a little, a work up for an older kitty with these signs could include bloodwork with thyroid testing, an abdominal ultrasound, and sampling if needed (dependent on ultrasound). If there is an underlying disease that can be treated your kitty may feel better and need less medications eventually. I hope this helps and thank you for using Boop by Petco!
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Hi, my cats been having a leaky bum (poop keeps coming out of her bum and she constantly has to lick) after switching to the brand of wet food my vet gave her or maybe from metronidazole, not sure. Should I go back to feeding her dry food only? these
Without a full history as to why a diet change was prescribed it is impossible to recommend reverting back. Metronidazole can cause marked diarrhoea in patients which may be triggering the symptoms. I recommend continuing as prescribed until you can contact your Vets office to discuss the changes in her condition and decide the best way forward
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Mia has had a pasty, chalk colored diahrrea for a few days now. It's streaked with green mucous and flecked with blood. I took a stool sample to the vet and it came up clean, save for some bacteria Her vet put her on Metronidazole ans told me to gi
All you can do is continue the medication as previously directed--more doses should help, it just may be too soon to see right now. I would look at a local pet store for a feline probiotic to add to the food as this can help repopulate the normal bacterial population and possibly change her to a sensitive stomach formula food.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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Hi!My cat has had diarrhea for 4 days now.We took him to the vet and they ran some tests, they figured the food he was eating was responsible.The vet ordered 3 meds:kaolinpectin, cimetidine, and metronidazole.He's been taking them for two days but hi
I am sorry Damian does not feel well. I would recommend recontacting the vet to let them know Damian feels worse. Typically metronidazole works with in 24-48 hours. Typically if he is having liquid diarrhea he is not constipated. I would make sure a fecal is negative for parasites like coccidia. He might need deworming for coccidia since he is you. I would feed him the new food and you can start with a small amount of pedialyte however if he is still not improving I recommend taking him back to a veterinarian for more testing like bloodwork.
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So I took my foster kitten to see our shelter vet today as he has had explosive diarrhea lately. She didnt seem interested in determining the cause and instead gave treatment for the symptoms; however, I expected this. She prescribed 0.6 ml of liquid
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My cat has had some blood in her stools lately and the stools have been softer than usual. I brought her to a vet and her tests came back clear but the vet prescribed metronidazole. Is this the appropriate medication? On the Web I saw that it can hav
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Diagnosed w/coccidia and clostridium around the end of October/beginning of November. Placed on pancur, metronidazole, amoxicillin and a thick, yellow medicine for the coccidia. He was better for quite sometime. Then last week I caught him eating his
I don;t recommend to start an antibiotic unless it is confirmed there is a bacterial or protozoal problem. When antibiotics are used without just cause, that's how antibiotic resistance can develop. Here is a link about vomiting: https://www.petcoach.co/article/vomiting-in-cats/ Have Zuma examined again if needed. I hope he feels better quickly!
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Hi! Beau's been having loose stool for 3 weeks and is on metronidazole for a week already but diarrhea's worsen. Could that be the side effect of the med-- how would I know if the med is working? He's also on 2.5mg of prednisolone every other day for
Hello! I would follow your veterinarian’s recommendation for medications at this time but if the diarrhea is not improving, some diagnostic tests will need to be performed to help guide treatment. Talk to your vet about blood work and an abdominal ultrasound (a sonogram of the belly). Diarrhea that becomes chronic (ongoing for weeks) can be due to inflammatory bowel disease, cancer in the GI tract, or even inflammation in the pancreas or liver. I am so glad to hear he is eating and acting normally... it is not an emergency to have further testing done but if it is not resolving, seek additional tests. Ultimately this may even include obtaining biopsies of the intestine via endocscopy or surgery— however blood work and an ultrasound will give some insight as to the best options moving forward. Best of luck with him, I hope he improves!
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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my 12y. male neutered male was on amoxicllin for dental infection got diarrhea started on flagyl bid loose stools returned vet reluctantly renewed med over phone xrays and labs were done on second visit how longcan I safely give the cat flagyl
Hello, sorry to hear about Magic. This medication is occasionally given long term and is generally a safe medication. It is originally an antibiotic with some anti-diarrhea and anti-inflammatory properties. Typically, for diarrhea this medication is given for up to 10 days then discontinued. Hope this helps and best of luck.
Updated on September 24th, 2025
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My kitten has been having diarrhea for a few weeks now She's been dewormed so I thought it may have been the food we've given her so we changed to Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain Feline Formula but she's still having diarrhea So I took her to the ve
Thanks for using Boop by Petco! Using metronidazole and a bland diet is a great way to start. Even if she tested negative for parasites, she could still have parasites so I would consider an anti parasitic medication if there is no improvement on the current plan. Another thing that should be considered if no improvement is changing her diet to ensure that is not a sensitivity to her current diet. Good luck and have a great day!
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