Convenia antibiotic and feral kitty

Hi everyone, I'm putting this in the health forum even though it's about a feral kitty because I'm guessing this counts as more health than feral issue.   How many of you have allowed your vet to give your cat Convenia (the long-lasting one time injection antibiotic)?   Have any of your cats had adverse reactions?   I've read that sometimes bad reactions can happen - though I don't know how common they are - but when they do it's a problem because the drug can't be stopped once it's in the body it acts for a couple of weeks.   

Still....with a feral, there's no way I'm going to be able to give her pills - not even a pill pocket she's on to my game.  This cat is my indoor feral who is about ten years old and she's going in for her first dental and check-up in many years.   So she's not sick or in need of an antibiotic now, but if she were to need it post-dental or pick up an upper respiratory infection (which can happen after a stressful vet experience) it'd sure be good to have the antibiotic already in her because I sure as heck can't give it!

So I'd love to know everyone's thoughts pro & con regarding Convenia generally and specifically for an impossible to pill cat.   Thanks!

I've not had any cats having problems after it, but then none of mine have had problems after any antibiotics - or come to that any vetinary treatment.  It's for skin infections though, not for anything that needs an antibiotic.

When my ferals need antibiotics, we use Convenia. I have no other way to ensure they get the medicine they need otherwise. Before I knew the problems with Convenia, several of my indoor kitties were given this antibiotic, and we were fortunate in that they had no adverse reaction either.

Antibiotics of any type can pose a problem for any cat. Reactions are not typical. Convenia in particular seems it can trigger something akin to a Heinz Body anemia reaction, and it can be fatal. But it is rare.

For us, Convenia has been a lifesaver for the feral cats.

Guess I've been lucky. I've always been able to give my feral cats antibiotics using regular canned cat food.

 I'll split the pills (Clavamox, for example) into smaller pieces - halves or quarters depending on the pill size.  Using the cat's favorite canned food, I'll make very little, bite-sized "meatballs", small enough to be swallowed whole.  To make the meatballs a special treat,  I might put tiny bits of fresh chicken or sprinkle some Bonito (tuna) flakes onto each of them.  The cats especially like when the meatballs are coated with crushed dry food since they get very little dry food, only as a treat.  One of my ferals, Tabby, did a 21 day course of antibiotics using this method. 

Bandit, another feral boy,  actually prefers the pill to be crushed and mixed into a small amount of food. Once he finishes his "appetizer", he then gets the rest of the meal.    Sometimes it takes a bit of trial and error to find out what you can get away with!

BTW, Pill Pockets worked for awhile, but now my feral guys don't care for them.   I wonder if there was an ingredient change.

I don't have experience with Covenia, but did read about it recently.  Personally, I'd be very reluctant to use it, but I can understand that in some cases, when other methods to administer meds have failed, it might be necessary.

Best of luck to you and your kitty with her dental!

OrientalSlave, wow no antibiotic problems at all - those are some sturdy cats you've got!   Are your cats Orientals?  (just guessing from the pic and the name...)

LDG, thanks for sharing that this has worked out for you.   It is hard sometimes to get perspective on how big a risk is - like Baytril can potentially cause blindness but does that mean we should never give it?   So good to know, my feral lady might need that convenia one day if I can ever get her to the vet.

KTLynn, those are awesome tips -  I'll have to try them out on her.  Patches has always been very finicky and a hesitant eater so it makes it very tricky to work with her with food, for anything - it would be great to have a reliable technique to get pills in her.

An update....so right now as usual Patches is displaying incredible savvy and not going into the trap even though I had her going into it earlier - she watched her tame son go in and would later go in herself.   He's at the vet today though, so I am trying to get her in there and she's starving herself - it's like she KNOWS!

I've had a couple ferals that needed Convenia injections in the past to treat abscesses. These were TNR cats for whom it would have been impossible to ensure they were getting antibiotics any other way. They did great.

As well, my ancient (19+ yr old) indoor kitty is on his third Convenia injection for a rare form of suppurative Stomatitis. It's helped tremendously and he's had no adverse reactions. All other antibiotics give him severe diarrhea and make him inappetent, and he gets beyond stressed by pilling. I was initially very nervous to use Convenia on him but it was becoming a quality of life issue. Would I use it if I had other options? Probably not. But it can be life-saver when you don't. My vet (feline-only practice) has never had any issues using it on kitties beyond the occasional GI disturbance around the 3rd or 4th day after the shot.

We use the drug a lot at our hospital and have had very good results with it for cats like yours. No side effects that I have seen. To me, a Godsend for cat treatment as pilling a cat is about as much fun as, well, pilling a cat.

Some anti-biotics can be compounded into a flavored liquid which might make giving drugs easier in your situation.  Although not feral, I cannot pill Ritz.  When ever possible, I get the medication liquid and flavored.

Ritz is currently on tuna/chicken flavored metronidazole (Flagyl).  It still tastes lousy, but with some FortiFlora and dehydrated liver mixed with meat (I fed raw), she'll consume the necessary drug.

Bastfriend said:

OrientalSlave, wow no antibiotic problems at all - those are some sturdy cats you've got!   Are your cats Orientals?  (just guessing from the pic and the name...)

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No, just normal healthy cats.  I've had quite a few cats over the years and have never had problems when they've had antibiotics which isn't very often.  I've also not had the food problems a lot of people here have, I did have a cat that had flea allergy and acne.  Suspect that fora like this give an impression that every cat has problems of some sort because people with problem cats are attracted like moths to a flame.  And I do think that cats from indoor-only multicat households have more problems because the cats often find the life very stressful.  My own have a cat-proof back garden to play in which more than doubles their living area, and hunting is a great pasttime for them.

Yes, got three Orientals and a Siamese at present, all registered pedigrees.

Thank you all for the feedback!   Turns out my plans got delayed with my feral kitty yet again, but it'll be good to have this thread to come back to in the future because one day eventually I will get that cat to the vet!