Antibiotics

Hi everyone,

I have looked on the forum to see if anyone has previously posted on this subject, but I couldn't find anything. My 7 month old kitten has gotten a nasty virus and the vet has put him on 1ml of Clamoxyl every 8 hours. Since he has gotten sick, he has slept constantly and only becoming more perky after a shot of antimflamatory to lower his fever. He has been on this antibiotic for nearly a week now but there is not much change, he is constantly sleepy. He is not keen on eating, but will eat if you put it in front of him, and will only drink when we give him a syringe of water. Can the antibiotics cause drowsiness and lack of appetite? Is this normal that he still hasn't improved? We're so worried about the little guy. Thanks! xx

If he's not getting better after a week, I would take him back to the vet.

Get well for your little muffin.

Welcome to TCS!

What kind of virus does he have and do you know what kind of shot he got? If he was given a Covenia shot, that's very normal behavior. I would think that with being on antibiotics for a week now, you'd see some better improvement, so I would be calling the vet tomorrow to discuss the lack of improvement. You might also ask for an appetite stimulant to increase his desire to eat. Also ask about canned Science Diet a/d food. It's got lots of good nutrition in it to help weak and sick or malnourished kitties.

Lethargy is quite normal for any type of illness, especially respiratory infections. It's VERY important that your kitty eat and drink. If you're not already feeding wet food, get some. Put a little bit in a bowl and add a bit of water to it. Mix it up and nuke it for a few seconds in the microwave. This enhances the aroma and will hopefully entice kitty to eat. Keep pushing the liquids, too. You can also give your little one plain Pedialyte (like you use for babies), but don't get the flavored variety. This has nutrients in it to keep them hydrated.

Do you know if he's running a fever? You can use an ear thermometer to check. If he is and if it's very high, I'd call or go to the ER vet, if you have one in your area. If not, call your regular vet and see what the emergency procedures are.

oh my goodness that was speedy, you guys are amazing. Its been a week since we took him initially as an emergency. He has had a fever, and everytime the vet gives him his anitimflammatory it goes down, the a day later it goes back up. I think he has some kind of virus in his liver, as we had to get him tested for FIP which came back negative thank goodness. He hasn;t had a cavonia shot, just anitimflammatories. I syringe him water and cat milk, and boil him up chicken so that he eats. It's getting worrying as yesterday he ate like a horse and today absolutely nothing. All he wants to do is sleep, which is so unlike him.

Clavamox is one that can cause GI upset and fever often causes lethargy. Dehydration also can cause lethargy, which happens often when they have fevers and loss of appetite. IMO you need to take him back to the vet if he is still like this after a week. Sub-Q fluids can help a lot. Good luck.

He definitely needs to go back to the vet, or at the least call the vet and discuss your concerns. He's not showing signs of improvement, which is disturbing. If the vet doesn't share your concerns, take him to a different vet for a second opinion. Keep pushing the food and liquid. He might need sub-q fluids for hydration, too. Go over to the kitty forum and find the kitten gloop formula and see if he'll eat that. You do have to remember, though, that when they're sick and young, it takes all that's in them to fight the infection and get well. All they can do is sleep as they have no energy left to do much else.

Stephanie

I would go back to th vet
Also ask for another antibiotic.
Coco gets very sick in clavamox.
Maybe your cat is like her.
Some cats do not do well on it.

He is on Clamoxyl, I don't know if thats the same. He also looks quite wobbly to me, although my partner thinks I'm worrying too much. He has also not been able to go to the bathroom to pass solids. He is very constipated, but the vet says thats fine. I'm going to take him for a second opinion, as I am not convinced that the antibiotics are working as his fever goes back up after the anti-imflammatories wear off. We're so worried about the little fella!

If he's not eating much, he doesn't have too much to pass. If he's not drinking, what his is drinking is being absorbed into his body and causing some of the constipation. I'm concerned that the vet thinks the constipation is normal.

What kind of symptoms was he first having that led you to take him to the vet to begin with?

I'll break it all down for you guys what happened to give you a clearer view.

Last Sunday: Emergency Vet called as the cat was extremely lethargic, wouldn't eat or drink even lift up his head. Cat had a temperature of 40ºC which is a fever. Was given a shock of antibiotic and anti-inflammatory to bring down the fever. Vet said the fever was caused by the fact he has been teething, and the infection more than likely entered through there.

Monday: almost back to normal due to the meds, but started to deteriorate in the evening once they wore off. Panic starts to kick in again.

Tuesday: took him back as he had not drunk or eaten anything, nor been to the toilet, his head had dropped again and his fever came back. Vet took blood samples and said it was possible that he could have FIP of Colongiohepatitus. Was put on a drip and kept overnight.

Wednesday: Retrieved cat from vet who said he had picked up immensly and that he was ok to go home. Cat was full of beans in surgery and clambering all over the place. Upon getting home, back to sleep not to be woken up. Cat put on Clamoxyl 3 times a day.

Thursday: Cat showing no signs still of improvement, although no drinking and eating forcibly only. Only wet food too, or boiled chicken mixed up with kitten milk. No stools still. Called vet, was told to bring him in on friday if symptoms continued.

Friday: Went back to vet as cat was still not right. STILL had fever, more anti-imflammatories. Once again, cat picked back up after the shot.

Saturday: Old cat back, woke me up at 7:30 am like usual, desperate to eat. a lot more active and awake most of the day playing.

Sunday (today): back to poorly cat again, that doesn't want to eat. Has had a small amount of warm chicken and half an individual pack of Whikers kitten food. Has had three syringes of water, 2 of milk and one of the water from the cooked chiken. Cat is just sleeping and sleeping, although he did pass stool.

Ok, i know its a lot, but now you can see what happened. I am not too happy with the care the vet is giving. we live in spain, and i do honestly think the vet thinks im stupid, even though i speak fluent spanish!

Oh wow!! Have they done bloodwork? Do you have the results? Has the vet given you any indication what they think it might be other than the FIP and the other thing?

They did and they came back negative. I STILL don't know if it could be the colongiohepatitus but FIP cam beack negative. Do you think it's worth getting a second opinion? A seven month old cat should be recovering by now, surely? The vet I feel is being utterly useless....

I would definitely seek a second opinion.

Thank you, I shall go to another veterinarian tomorrow. One that is a bit closer to my house also. Thanks for all your advice, you have all been marvellous! Both myself and Henry (the cat) think you're all awesome!

Antibiotics don't treat viruses, they only treat bacteria. They are sometimes administered to ward off opportunistic bacterial infections that can come about when a cat's immune system is weakened by a virus.

If he's not responding, then you need to find the right treatment for the virus. A vet may keep him on antibiotics as a safeguard only.

So what kind of treatment should the vet be giving him?

Hello,

just got back from the vets, and they have changed his antibiotics for "vibracina" which contains doxicillin. they said it's a last resort before they commit to any more tests. Have to take him back tomorrow to see if there are any changes. He STILL had a fever this morning. Thats a week long fever!!!

Can anyone suggest what I can do to aid in treating the fever from home? x

Originally Posted by dougle_2k

So what kind of treatment should the vet be giving him?

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It completely depends on what is wrong with him. Giving antibiotics is not a bad thing, unless he has a bacterial infection on top of the viral infection, it just won't do anything for the virus.

Originally Posted by dougle_2k

Can anyone suggest what I can do to aid in treating the fever from home? x

Click to expand...

If it were dangerously high, I'd say to take him into an emergency vet. Cats can't take aspirin so there is not much other than to keep him hydrated as much as you can and let it ride itself out.

If you don't trust your current vet, then do take him to another one that you can trust. Some kittens just have problematic health issues. I had one that was lethargic on and off until he was a year old. At the end of each period, which would last anywhere from a week to a few months, he would have a massive growth spurt. All the tests in the world never found what was happening to him. It can be very frustrating.

Thank you, that really does give me a glimmer of hope We have him on L-lysine, just to act as a natural anti inflammatory...fingers crossed! x