My nursing cat is on metronidazole. Are her kittens safe?

Question

Hi. I’m taking care of a stray cats. She was pregnant and had her kittens 4 days ago. She has diarrhea so we take her to the vet. She’s taking metonidazol and antibiotics. But the thing is, we tried to give the kittens formula but that didn’t work, they totally refuse to drink it. We couldn’t find those Miracle nipples (Those are not available in my country) and we think maybe the ones we do have are too big. They ended up being nurse by their mother. Are they gonna be ok? what should we do? Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | unspayed | 6 lbs

Anna M., DVM · Accepted Answer

Metronidazole is excreted in milk and so is not labeled for use in nursing animals. It is an antibiotic and can disrupt the bacterial flora of the GI tract. However, we're always having to balance pros and cons in our therapies. It's not great for the kittens to get metronidazole via their mother's milk....but it's more important that they get nutrition than it is to avoid the metronidazole. I would pose this question to your vet, who knows more of the specifics of how the mother is doing and how necessary it is to keep her on the metronidazole. If her diarrhea was mild, then I'd wean her off the metro as soon as possible to minimize her kittens' exposure. If her condition was more serious, then her need for the metro is higher priority. Her kittens will most likely be just fine, but we avoid going off-label when possible. In short, no need to panic, but worth talking to your vet about the fact that these kittens seem to need to nurse from mom, and decide the best option from there. Hope this helps!

My nursing cat is on metronidazole. Are her kittens safe?

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