Well, needless to say, receiving this information, which to me, described my situation exactly was like a bombshell!
I immediately wrote to Dr. Rodger-Withers describing what I had experienced. As I compiled the letter to her, my list
of "coincidental" fertility and reproductive problems grew longer and longer and I realized that in the past year, I
really had not had ONE single, what I would call "normal" pregnancy and litter!
Dr. Rogers-Withers was kind enough to reply to me almost immediately. She said that what I was describing did
indeed sound like Gp G-Strep. She described the treatment, which I was very eager to begin:
All cats in the household, including spays/neuters, males, older kittens (especially those to be used in a
breeding program) should be treated with Antirobe (clindamycin) 25mg per cat, twice daily for THREE WEEKS. This can
also be given safely in pregnancy!!
Now, Antirobe is one of the most foul tasting (bitter) medications on the planet. The idea of dosing ALL my cats
(about 15, including spays/neuters, older kittens) with this twice daily for three weeks was pretty daunting!! I opted
to get the 25 mg capsules instead. I got pretty good at popping those suckers down the "hatch", although I did catch the
odd tooth on my fingers at time and had plenty of nicks from the process. However, get through it, we did.
As I had one girl at four weeks pregnant at the time I started, for assurance, I also had my veterinarian make me
up syringes of penicillin to give to the mother and babies at birth, as Dr. Susan Little advises on her website
(G-Strep article, site address is http://www.catvet.homestead.com . The direct link to the specific article
is http://catvet.homestead.com/Strep.html .).
Hopeful, I decided to breed several girls right after they had the treatment. All the breedings took! Bellies started
to look rounded and promising! Even my girl who had had the two miscarriages at eight weeks started to look very
pregnant and she felt nice and hard - I felt kittens moving.
Happy ending.. the Antirobe treatment worked, big time!! I now have large, healthy litters from all my girls -
including Tierra, the girl that lost the two litters, gave birth to six healthy, vigorous babies last week! All kittens
in all the litters are growing and doing fine and I have more kittens than I have EVER had at once. But as I work at home,
I am just happy that I will be taking care of them and crazy for a couple of months with the sound of little paws
running through the house.
One more thing.. one little girl in the litter where the mother started treatment at four weeks into the pregnancy
was not weaning. She was nine weeks old and her brother was twice her size. I was worried. A veterinary exam showed
nothing at all wrong with her, but every kind of food I tempted her with or tried, failed. Then we decided to try
the Antirobe with her, just on a hunch. After only two doses, she started eating!! The next day, it took very little
coaxing to get her interested in the food and her outlook is now promising whereas before, I was starting to think I
might lose her.
If there are any "poor doer" kittens in the resulting litters of queens who have been treated with the Antirobe -
no matter their age, consider treating those as well with the drug. Dosage instructions follow. I have used this for
a week or more with no problems.
Note: I have found since a good way to give the oral Antirobe, seems to cut the taste and make it more acceptable..
draw up your amount into the oral syringe and then draw up a few tenths of a cc of liquid (pediatric) Vitamin C. The
Vitamin C has its own benefits as well. This is an especially effective way to give the medication to young kittens.
AI would HIGHLY recommend that anyone experiencing these fertility/reproductive problems try the Antirobe treatment.
You really do need to treat ALL the cats in your household though and for the full three weeks. I gave my two older
kittens (around 3-4 lbs at the time) half the dose, or 25 mg ONCE daily, but everyone else had the twice daily dose of
25mg.
Note: Dr. Kristi Fisher recommends that to be effective the dosage be on the high end: 11 mg/kg twice daily. She
says, "Depending on the concentration at the tissue site, Antirobe can be either bacteriostatic (meaning just keep
the bacteria from increasing) or bacteriocidal (meaning killing off all of the bacteria). Signs of overdose are basic -
vomiting or diarrhea."
The Antirobe is 25mg/ml, so divide 5mg by 25mg/ml to get 0.2ml. That is your dose for a one pound cat.
Thankfully, following the treatment should knock out the Gp G-Strep problem for good, so even though it is quite
an ordeal, it is DEFINITELY worth it. Take it from one satisfied.. and relieved.. breeder..
For those of you who need more information, Dr. Sue Rogers-Withers has checked this article for accuracy and
has permitted me to publish her e-mail address. She would be pleased to hear from you: qihai@optushome.com.au You may
also e-mail me: mmarrow@earthlink.net.
[Til toppen]
G Strep Updates: The Continuing Story: Part 2
Av: Marva Marrow, 7th Heaven Orientals, USA
Since I wrote my first article in 2002, describing my experiences with G Strep in breeding cats and young kittens, I
have received an unprecedented quantity of feedback, both from breeders and veterinarians around the world. These were
either breeders who had experienced to varying degrees the problems I had witnessed, were interested in the results of
treatment or wanted to try it themselves, or from veterinarians who were familiar with these heartbreaking symptoms and events
in their own feline patients. Veterinarians confirmed that this phenomenon occurs in virtually every breed and the feedback
I received - from the US and other countries confirms to me that G Strep problems are much more widespread than I would
have imagined.
Although my initial, radical treatment with dosing all the cats in the house with clindamycin for three weeks produced
dramatic, positive results - live litters of kittens, breedings taking successfully, reduced numbers of pyometras and such, I
was somewhat disheartened to see that the signs of G Strep had NOT been totally eliminated. Problems started creeping back,
little by little and I was at a loss of how to handle this.
Through the feedback I received from veterinarians and the additional research, I am now using an updated,
slightly modified protocol, which seems to finally really be working. Since I am gun shy, having seen far too much of the problems
this elusive bacteria can cause, I will be treating my own cats for at least the next year, to attempt to control and rid myself of
the problem.
Again, I must state that to my observation and through my experience, there are virtually NO SYMPTOMS obvious in the
adult cats. No sneezing, coughing, watery/teary eyes or discharge, no diarrhea, no weight loss, no failure to thrive, etc. My
breeding cats are and always have been the picture of health - gleaming coats, good weight, etc. That is what has made this
problem so very frustrating. In addition to this visual confirmation of good health, every test, every blood panel and even posts
on dead kittens have come back inconclusive and normal. The ultimate nightmare!! In any case, because of the dramatically
positive results using the clindamycin (and sometimes clindamycin/clavamox) treatment, I have concluded that this IS G Strep I
am dealing with.
So.. I would like to share with you some ideas and the new protocol I am using with success. This information is based on
the advice of several veterinarians I have queried and on my own personal experience. I have tried this new protocol for the
past six months or so and am very happy with the results. This will be a clear, non-technical explanation. I hope it will make sense
and, more than anything else, I hope it will help others as it has helped me.
First the bad news:
After clindamycin treatment, the G Strep will most likely still be retained in the normal flora at a very low level. Therefore, the
cat could always be a potential G Strep carrier with respect to breeding only. In other words, we should be concerned with the
breeding aspects of the Strep G rather than whether the cats do not have any G Strep at all, since the clindamycin will most likely
not get every last bit of it - even at a 3 week dose.
The other thing (which you may already know) is that a culture will take about 10 days, and will most likely come back with
"normal flora", because the G Strep is at such a low level that it won't "register" on the lab tests.
OK, so if we can't consider the Strep G gone completely, then what to do?
The good news (hopefully) is this:
The key is to treat just before breeding, during breeding, right before delivery of the babies and immediately following the
delivery!
The feeling is that the only time the G Strep is really active is when the girls are cycling and at birth/delivery. And the male
will also pass on/infect the female or other females afterwards, so it is imperative to treat the boy as well. None of the cats will
be symptomatic in any way, as I mentioned. This treatment will kill the G Strep in the girl at this crucial time and also protect
the boy.
Before Breeding:
The first day a girl starts calling, give her clindamycin 25mg 2X daily for 3 days. THEN put her with the tom, giving the meds
to BOTH cats until she is done cycling, or one week. I leave my girls with the boy until he isn't interested anymore, but however
you choose to do it, continue the meds for the whole week.
Before Delivery:
One week before her projected due date, give the clindamycin (antirobe) 25mg 2X daily.
You may or may not also give clavamox. I have given the additional clavamox before with good results in girls that had
what I considered pretty severe problems (multiple breedings not taking or absorption of kittens, etc. in spite of giving the
antirobe only). In a couple of girls I also gave the clavamox at the beginning, for the breeding. The clavamox is the usual dose,
1cc/ml 2X daily.
Give these meds for the week before birth and also continue for 3-5 days afterwards as the mother can pass on the G Strep
to the kittens through grooming.
At Time of Delivery:
As soon as the kittens are born (I do this even before they are dry), dip the cords in iodine and administer long lasting
penicillin (injectible - instructions follow). You can get the long lasting penicillin without prescription through vet supply houses.
Make sure it is "long lasting penicillin" (benzathine/procaine pen G) and NOT Pen G. Be sure to shake the bottle well as the
liquid is thick. Give the mother 1cc subQ immediately following the birth.
Give the babies an injection as well using this dilution and method:
Draw up 1.5 cc sterile water or saline into a 3cc syringe. Then draw up .25cc/ml long lasting penicillin. Shake the syringe.
Take off the needle. Insert the needle of a 1cc (tuberculin) syringe into the 3cc syringe (where you took off the needle) and
draw off .25cc/ml of this mixture into separate syringes for each kitten. Prepare this solution no more than a couple of hours
before the kittens are born (refrigerate). Give each kitten this injection subQ.
Fading Kittens
In the case of fading kittens, I give a "cocktail" of clavamox and liquid clindamycin. For very tiny kittens (up to a week or two,
5 oz. approximately) I would give .1ml of each medication, twice daily. You can either give this with a tube feeding or orally
with a syringe. For a kitten of one pound, I would give about .2ml of each.
Additional Tips
A friend gave me a VERY helpful suggestion of how to get those pesky capsules down a very reluctant cat (you know the kind!)
She simply opens the capsule into a tiny dish, adds a small spoon of baby food and lightly mixes, serves it immediately. Believe
it or not, most cats will eat it this way! I guess it isn't all that bad tasting in the powder form.
Although this new protocol seems a bit complicated and time consuming, in actuality, it really isn't that difficult. And the
results have been very promising. If you are one who has been experiencing the frustrating and heartbreaking problems of G
Strep, I think you will find the time and energy put into following these instructions to be worth every minute.
For comments, feedback and additional questions, please feel free to write to me:
marva@kittykouch.com
I do hope this information will help you to have healthy babies - please do let me know!
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