Senior Cat on Zeniquin for a Month with no improvement

carlad · Jun 10, 2013

My 18 year old kitty has been on Zeniquin for a month with absolutely NO improvement but the vet insists on keeping her on it for another month. Mitty has been suffering on and off for the last 4 years with the dreaded Upper Respiratory Infection. She was always taking Clavamox which seemed to work. Since she's been getting older, the infections have been more frequent and of course more difficult to treat. She has been on Doxycycline as well which actually made her worse and very nauseous. Because of her age they will not do any kind of tests that require anesthesia so xrays and a culture are completely out of the question. We've done a DNA test on her and everything came up negative. I am so so upset and can't bare to see her suffer.

My question is...has anyone been in a similar situation and did Zeniquin or the medication the vet requested to stay on actually start working after such a long time? Or does anyone have any other suggestions? She is already at a Cat Hospital in Burlington but will do ANYTHING to make her last couple of years (fingers crossed) comfortable.

Please Help!!

vball91 · Jun 11, 2013

I don't have any experience with Zeniquin, but here's the FDA sheet on this. http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Animal...lDrugProducts/FOIADrugSummaries/ucm117199.pdf

From page 3:

"For the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections, Zeniquin tablets should be given for two to three days beyond the cessation of clinical signs for a maximum of 30 days. For the treatment of urinary tract infections, Zeniquin tablets should be administered for at least 10 days. If no improvement is noted within 5 days, the diagnosis should be re-evaluated and a different course of therapy considered."

I'm so sorry you and your cat are going through this. My vet was able to take x-rays without anesthesia, but maybe it depends on the cat and the area that needs to be x-rayed. Also, is she coughing or sneezing up anything that could be used for a culture? Are you supplementing with lysine which has been known to be helpful for boosting the immune system to fight off URIs?

stephanietx · Jun 11, 2013

We gave 2 thirty day rounds of Zenequin to my cat when she was about 2 yrs old. It was used to successfully treat a pseudomonas infection. It was a secondary infection to the URI she had had for almost a year. I would ask your vet to do a culture and sensitivity test on the nasal or eye discharge for the URI. The culture will tell the vet what type of infection you're dealing with (bacterial or viral) and the sensitivity test tells the vet which antibiotic will most accurately treat the infection. The test takes several days or a week, but it's worth it to figure out what you're dealing with.

I would also see a new vet for a second opinion.

carlad · Jun 11, 2013

vball91 said:
I don't have any experience with Zeniquin, but here's the FDA sheet on this. http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Animal...lDrugProducts/FOIADrugSummaries/ucm117199.pdf

From page 3:

"For the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections, Zeniquin tablets should be given for two to three days beyond the cessation of clinical signs for a maximum of 30 days. For the treatment of urinary tract infections, Zeniquin tablets should be administered for at least 10 days. If no improvement is noted within 5 days, the diagnosis should be re-evaluated and a different course of therapy considered."

I'm so sorry you and your cat are going through this. My vet was able to take x-rays without anesthesia, but maybe it depends on the cat and the area that needs to be x-rayed. Also, is she coughing or sneezing up anything that could be used for a culture? Are you supplementing with lysine which has been known to be helpful for boosting the immune system to fight off URIs?

carlad · Jun 11, 2013

Thanks for the responses. I have been giving Mitty Lysine as well as Forta Flora and a potassium liquid to boost her immune system.

They haven't taken a sample of her discharge because they say its lost its effect once it's out of the nasal cavity. However, I will insist on them taking what is available (eye and nose) anyways just in case.

Sadly this is our second vet

carlad · Jun 11, 2013

stephanietx said:
We gave 2 thirty day rounds of Zenequin to my cat when she was about 2 yrs old. It was used to successfully treat a pseudomonas infection. It was a secondary infection to the URI she had had for almost a year. I would ask your vet to do a culture and sensitivity test on the nasal or eye discharge for the URI. The culture will tell the vet what type of infection you're dealing with (bacterial or viral) and the sensitivity test tells the vet which antibiotic will most accurately treat the infection. The test takes several days or a week, but it's worth it to figure out what you're dealing with.

I would also see a new vet for a second opinion.

Did the 2 month dose of Zeniquin clear your Kitty of her infection?? I just want to hear a success story so I know this vet is recommending the right thing.

I'm ready to drive her to Guelph University for specialty testing. Apparently they have equipment that not all vets have available.

Has anyone tried Saline nasal spray?

stephanietx · Jun 12, 2013

The Zenequin did get the infection down to within normal range. (Pseudomonas is a naturally occurring bacteria in humans and kitties.) We chose not to do a 3rd round of the antibiotics because we didn't want her to develop an intolerance to the medication in case we had to deal with this again. Thankfully, we've not had to deal with it in the past 6 years.

We don't use a saline spray with her, but we do have Rx nose drops we use from time to time as needed.

Senior Cat on Zeniquin for a Month with no improvement

carlad

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vball91

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stephanietx

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carlad

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carlad

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