Yesterday, my boy had his teeth cleaned. He's 5, and I adopted him 4 months ago from a local shelter. At the time, I took him to my vet for a wellness check, and they mentioned that his teeth could use attention. I waited until he was secure with me before taking him in because it wasn't an emergency.
When I picked him up, I was given an antibiotic (Clavamox), and I didn't think anything of it because I figured it was precautionary. However, when I got home, I realized that they had given me a two-week supply, and the discharge notes call for it to be administered for that period. That seems quite a long time to me.
My first cat (now at the Bridge) had Clavamox several times and it was never more than a week. Once was after minor surgery, and another time she had a bladder infection. But it was only for a week. According to the discharge notes, my boy has no infection, nor did he have any teeth pulled. It was a routine cleaning.
My objection isn't to the cost, but I personally don't take any medication that I don't absolutely need, and I don't want to give excess meds to my cat either. I have a call in to this vet (it's a big hospital, and I normally have only one of the vets [a terrific one] care for my pets, but the cleanings are done by techs, and I have no control over the vet they choose for supervision), but she won't be on until tonight.
What do you think? Naturally, I've begun giving him the Clavamox. By the way, "my" vet is one of the heads of this hospital, and if this woman can't explain why my boy needs this much antibiotic, I may contact him about it. I hate going over her head, but in the past some of these younger vets have suggested treatments that he's disagreed with, so I tend to trust him more.
When I picked him up, I was given an antibiotic (Clavamox), and I didn't think anything of it because I figured it was precautionary. However, when I got home, I realized that they had given me a two-week supply, and the discharge notes call for it to be administered for that period. That seems quite a long time to me.
My first cat (now at the Bridge) had Clavamox several times and it was never more than a week. Once was after minor surgery, and another time she had a bladder infection. But it was only for a week. According to the discharge notes, my boy has no infection, nor did he have any teeth pulled. It was a routine cleaning.
My objection isn't to the cost, but I personally don't take any medication that I don't absolutely need, and I don't want to give excess meds to my cat either. I have a call in to this vet (it's a big hospital, and I normally have only one of the vets [a terrific one] care for my pets, but the cleanings are done by techs, and I have no control over the vet they choose for supervision), but she won't be on until tonight.
What do you think? Naturally, I've begun giving him the Clavamox. By the way, "my" vet is one of the heads of this hospital, and if this woman can't explain why my boy needs this much antibiotic, I may contact him about it. I hate going over her head, but in the past some of these younger vets have suggested treatments that he's disagreed with, so I tend to trust him more.