How often is it safe for a cat to have covenia injections?

mollyblue · Jul 29, 2015

We began fostering Snowpuff in December shortly after our resident cat of 19 years passed. She was sick when picked her up from the Shelter, and after having her home for 2 days, (picked her up on a Saturday, had her in to their vet on Monday), she was given oral antibiotics and a cream for her eyes. After no improvement in 7 days, we made another appointment and when we went in, the vet did not even have a record of the cat and was rude to us wanting to know if her coat always looked so bad... etc...acting like we were not caring for her. Disappointed in the care we were receiving, we adopted her so we could take her to our own vet. He gave her a covenia injection, and eye drops. She got better for a couple of weeks, but then became sick again. Another visit to the vet and he prescribed Viralys and said the best thing for the cat would be to fight the infection on her own so she could build up antibodies. She continued "fighting" the infection, until it began worsening again and her eyes were getting infected again, so she was back to the vet, but this time she received an oral antibiotic (which she hated! it was really gritty). She recovered again for a short time, but began getting sicker again, and this is how it has gone since December. The Viralys does seem to help and her infections, though still frequent don't seem to be as severe, but it would be nice to just get the poor baby well! She is only 2, and had such a rough life. She is all white/blue eyes and deaf. At one point she was somebody's baby, because when she was found at the lake, she was already spayed. She had mange really bad so that she had lost most of her hair, was super skinny, and she had never been socialized and did not know how to play with other cats, or with humans without drawing blood. She has come a long way. She is so eager to learn and to please, and she has such a great personality... She loves to go for car rides, and is learning to walk on a leash so she can enjoy some outdoor time, and when she feels halfway decent, she is very playful. She seems appreciative about having a home. She just spends so much time sick... She has a very sensitive tummy and we have to be careful what food we feed her or she will throw up. She has had several eye infections, nasal infections, upper respiratory infections, and even when she isn't sick and lethargic she sneezes alot, and she is always itchy, even though she doesn't have fleas. I have read other people say that their cat had a followup injection two weeks after the first injection but snopuff has never had a followup injection that soon after and a part of me wonders if this is still the same infection as when we first picked her up from the shelter.

Has anyone else had a cat that don't get well? Any suggestions? Oh, she has been tested for FHIV and FIV and that is negative, and her complete blood workup just showed an infection. She has a followup in 10 days...

catpack · Jul 29, 2015

It sounds as if Snowpuff has the feline herpes virus (FHV). The virus is always present in the cat once they are exposed, though the severity of symptoms varies from cat to cat.

Virayls contains L-Lysine which is a supplement that can help treat the FHV. You can also get capsules of Lysine from many health food stores or online at Amazon. You can either pill the cat or mix it in with some wet food (it is well tolerated by most cats.)

There are also several medications that can be used.
One is Famcyclovir. This is an antiviral medication.
Another is Doxycycline. This is an antibiotic.
Another antibiotic is Veraflox. This is an new antibiotic made specifically to treat bacterial infections associated with FHV.

For the most severe cases of FHV that have come through our rescue in the past year, we have used another medication called Polyprenyl Immunostimulant (sometimes paired with Veraflox.) These are cats that are chronically sick and have flare-ups within 5-14 days of completing another type of treatment (usually famcyclovir and clavamox or doxycycline.) By your description, I would likely put Snowpuff in this category. The PI is expensive; BUT, the cats we have used it on haven't had flare-ups since completion of treatment.

nansiludie · Jul 29, 2015

CatPack said:
It sounds as if Snowpuff has the feline herpes virus (FHV). The virus is always present in the cat once they are exposed, though the severity of symptoms varies from cat to cat.

Virayls contains L-Lysine which is a supplement that can help treat the FHV. You can also get capsules of Lysine from many health food stores or online at Amazon. You can either pill the cat or mix it in with some wet food (it is well tolerated by most cats.)

There are also several medications that can be used.
One is Famcyclovir. This is an antiviral medication.
Another is Doxycycline. This is an antibiotic.
Another antibiotic is Veraflox. This is an new antibiotic made specifically to treat bacterial infections associated with FHV.

For the most severe cases of FHV that have come through our rescue in the past year, we have used another medication called Polyprenyl Immunostimulant (sometimes paired with Veraflox.) These are cats that are chronically sick and have flare-ups within 5-14 days of completing another type of treatment (usually famcyclovir and clavamox or doxycycline.) By your description, I would likely put Snowpuff in this category. The PI is expensive; BUT, the cats we have used it on haven't had flare-ups since completion of treatment.

CatPack has left very, very good advice. I would like to add that I don't think Covenia is as good as an antibiotic given over a daily basis over a two week period of time. I have also read that some cats have had bad reactions to it, so personally, I would not ever have a cat in my care be given covenia, as it is an injection, it cannot be reversed if the cat had a bad reaction to it. I am glad that your kitty has not had any issues with it.

I am wondering, have you cleaned everything she had contact with and possibly had germs or snot on? Like toys, beds, bowls etc?

mollyblue · Jul 30, 2015

Thank you for the replies. Yes, cleaning we do. This is actually my daughters cat, and my memory is not good to remember all the medications she has been on. I know the eye creme didn't work, but the drops did great. When she told me about the first covenia injection, I googled it and freaked out when I read about all the bad reactions cats have had to it, but after experiencing how well Snowy did on it both the first time she had it, and then how quickly she has improved after this most recent injection... I just think it is a good drug for her. She has a follow up with our Vet again in 7 days and we will see what he thinks. Our vet is of the opinion, as are we, that she just never really got over the initial infection she had when we first got her... but she felt better enough that we thought she was well.

My daughter and I both think she has the FHV too, as she sneezes alot, and because she gets sick so much. The shelter where we got her insisted she does not have it, and our own vet says he is hesitant to diagnose that at this point. Her blood work, aside from the infection and low grade fever was normal. She was in very bad condition when we got her, and even worse condition when she first went into the shelter. Her coat is growing out very nicely, and for a time, she was gaining weight, but at her heighest, she only weighs 7.5 lbs. With her most recent illness she has dropped back down to 7. I will write down the meds listed above and have her take those with her. I think the veraflox is the gritty one Snopuff couldnt stand. As for the Viralys, we have tried the chews. We havent tried the capsuls, but she is a very finky eater and a lot of stuff makes her throw up (which I hate giving oral meds and then having her throw up immediately because I just feel like they are not doing her any good not to mention that it is very unpleasant for her to puke, and me to clean up. She does tolerate the gel pretty well. She doesn't lick it up enthusiastically as the instructions say she will, but if I slide it in the side of her mouth, she doesnt spit it out or throw up.

mrsgreenjeens · Jul 30, 2015

I have a cat who is absolutely impossible to pill, so she gets the Convenia shots, and so far I think she has had at least 5 of them in the past 2 years. I, personally, am a real advocate of Convenia

.

As far as Feline Herpes Virus, has she actually been diagnosed with it? It really does sound like that's what she has. Here is a good thread about when L-Lysine isn't enough: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/267703/stubborn-herpes-infection-add-lactoferrin-in-addition-to-lysine

But also, I am going to see if @stephanietx can take a look at your thread, because she has a cat who also had something else, in additional to FHV, (I think), which took a long time to figure out, and a long time to get over, but with the right medication, eventually her cat got better

mrsgreenjeens · Jul 30, 2015

OH! I forgot to mention the itchiness. I don't think that's related to the FHV. It could be related to food, or back to the original mange, or environmental allergies, or seasonal allergies, etc. Can you tell WHERE she is itchy? Usually if it's food related it will be around their heads. Anyway, maybe something in this thread will help...it pretty much covers ALL the bases: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/286269/at-my-wits-end-why-are-my-cats-itchy

mollyblue · Jul 30, 2015

Interesting information. I suppose her itchiness is moderate in comparison to those who have licked/scratched/itched bald spots as she doesn't seem to have any of those. Her coat is still a little funky from having lost it all, but it is getting thicker, not thinner. She has wayward hair and it will stick out in every direction. She is also a fastidious groomer and if I brush her, or if we try to pet her whilst she is grooming, she will groom us... and the other cat too.

At this time, the only food she will eat is Max Cat chunks. We have tried other foods with her, but she just doesn't eat them, or there are several that if she does eat them because we wont put anything else out, she will immediately throw it up right beside the bowl. I guess for now we will deal with the itchy and try to get the internal infection cleared up. Once she stops losing weight and starts feeling better, maybe then we can attempt to address whether this is a food allergy. I know she has airborne allergies because when we take her for walks she wants to sniff everything, but she always ends up sneezing all the way home!

mollyblue · Jul 30, 2015

And for the FHV, my daughter and I think this is what she has, but the Shelter vet insisted she did not. We thought that was because he was the vet from the shelter she came from. Our own vet said he did not want to diagnose her with that when we first took her in, and wanted to rule out other stuff first. Is there a test?

stephanietx · Jul 30, 2015

Thank you @mrsgreenjeens for tagging me.

I have been through the get sick, get an antibiotic, get well, then rinse and repeat cycle with my FHV+ kitty. We did that ride for 8 months before we figured out the underlying cause.

My Hannah has FHV and was diagnosed in the midst of our roller coaster ride. She would have repetitive sneezing with projectile, discolored discharge and weepy eyes. We finally found a vet to do a culture and sensitivity test on her nasal discharge. She had an underlying pseudomonas infection that could've killed her eventually. The culture showed the bacteria/virus and the sensitivity test showed which medication best treated it. It took 2 rounds of antibiotics, 21 days each, to finally get the pseudomonas down to the high side of normal. So, I would recommend you start with that to rule out any serious types of stuff. I'd also recommend the PCR URD test to see if she does have FHV or one of the other conditions tested. Here's a *.pdf with info on the viruses it tests: http://www.2ndchance.info/cateyeIdexxURDpanel.pdf .

If she does indeed have herpes, there's much you can do to help with that, but the best thing is to switch to a grain free food. This may be hard, but you have to give it a good try. The arginine in grain causes the herpes virus to replicate. You will also want to add L-Lysine to her diet. Be sure to give it twice a day. For maintenance, the dose is 500mg a day (250 mg twice a day) and the flare up dose is 1000mg (500mg twice a day). We use the powdered variety that comes in a 1 lb jar. Just 1/4 t is equal to 500mg.

You'll want to avoid any kind of oral steroid. Steroids suppress the immune system and since your kitty's immune system is compromised and she's already struggling, you don't want to suppress it even more. We use an eye drop with a bit of a steroid in it for Hannah's eyes (gentamicin or tobramycin) and her nose.

For the itchiness, you might want to give her a daily antihistamine. We give our girl 1/4 to 1/2 of a regular loratadine (Claritin) daily. Just crush and add to wet food.

As for the Convenia, it's intended to be used ONCE in a cat's lifetime and not for respiratory issues. I've had two cats get a Convenia shot and both suffered the same side effect of extreme lethargy for 7-10 days, so I'm always cautious to recommend it. That's just my experience and my opinion.

Since your kitty is so hard to pill, ask the vet if whatever medication you're prescribed can be compounded into a kitty treat. There are a couple of compounding pharmacies that do that. My former vet uses one in Houston.

mollyblue · Jul 31, 2015

We have never received any antibiotics in pill form, they have all been liquid, which we are diligent about giving. The problem is they make her throw up or else she will spit them out. I never knew kittys could spit until I met snowpuff. She is like a camel when you give her something she don't like. We have made attempts to go grain free... its harder than it sounds. Everyone tells me just to make her eat what I give her, and not to give in to what she wants to eat... but this cat survived for who knows how long out on her own and going days without food... she will starve herself, and that doesn't seem too healthy for what ails her either. We want to build her up and help her get stronger. And it is not just cheap food or dry food she boycotts... she won't eat the brothfuls... the wellness brand, she will not even nibble the blue buffallo treats or foods...

So as far as the testing for the HIV and other/additiona viruses you mentioned, how expensive is that and the medication regime to treat what is found?

mrsgreenjeens · Jul 31, 2015

MollyBlue said:
We have never received any antibiotics in pill form, they have all been liquid, which we are diligent about giving. The problem is they make her throw up or else she will spit them out. I never knew kittys could spit until I met snowpuff. She is like a camel when you give her something she don't like. We have made attempts to go grain free... its harder than it sounds. Everyone tells me just to make her eat what I give her, and not to give in to what she wants to eat... but this cat survived for who knows how long out on her own and going days without food... she will starve herself, and that doesn't seem too healthy for what ails her either. We want to build her up and help her get stronger. And it is not just cheap food or dry food she boycotts... she won't eat the brothfuls... the wellness brand, she will not even nibble the blue buffallo treats or foods...

So as far as the testing for the HIV and other/additiona viruses you mentioned, how expensive is that and the medication regime to treat what is found?

Cats will spit the liquid out, or it will foam out of their mouths, if it is bitter tasting. If you have it compounded into a fish flavor, or chicken flavor, or even liver flavor, then sometimes you can even get them to lick it right out of the syringe, IF it's tasty enough. Some medications can be compounded into transdermal medicatons, where you can rub it into their ear flaps or any place where there isn't much fur (bottoms of their feet?), and other medications can be compounded into taste chews (think your Lysine chews that you give now, although those aren't prescription meds, but same idea. OR, some can even be given as daily injections vs pills or liquids. We currently give our impossible to medicate girl injections of antacids vs pills, and give her appetite enhancers via transdermal (rubbing it in her ear) vs pill. works for us and her

We get both of these through a compounding pharmacy that our Vet uses.

I know just what you mean about food. It's all a matter of finding food that she likes. I have two of the pickiest eaters on earth. Thank goodness for the third guy, who will eat just about anything. He makes me smile because as I'm fixing their meals, he's hollering his head off wanting food

. then dives right in

. The two picky ones are just sitting back wondering if they're going to like what their slave is going to serve them today or not

. They, too, would rather starve than eat something that "offends" them

, even if they loved it yesterday, no less. BUT, I simply don't offer them anything with grains. There are probably thousands of choices available that are grain free. And I have tried most of them, and have quite a few of them currently on my kitchen counter. We do rotate from meal to meal to make sure they don't get bored. But I know pretty much who likes what flavor, at least. My picky little girl likes beef, my picky boy only likes chicken, and the other one is open to most things. Except turkey. None of them like turkey, which is odd. So....my girl will eat SOME Wellness, but even my boy who eats pretty much anything will not TOUCH Wellness

, AND none of them like Blue Buffalo.

What foods is your girl eating? Dry? canned? Have you tried Nutro Chunky Chicken? That seems to be a favorite among many TCS members (although my Callie won't go near it) How about Fancy Feast CLASSICS. Believe it or not, that's a grain free cat food that not bad. Or Soulistic, Weruva, Tiki? It really depends on whether or not she likes Pate or chunks, etc. Or if she is eating dry food, even those manufacturers are coming out with grain free kibble.

As far as costs of tests, every Vet charges different prices, so for that, you would simply need to call around and ask. It's actually amazing the difference in costs per Vet

mollyblue · Jul 31, 2015

Well the food issue is really complex as she is not the only cat eating, and they are fed wet food twice daily, sometimes more if they can fanaggle it. We also have a ragdoll that we got to be a companion for snopuff and while THAT cat would like me to believe she will positively DIE if I give her anything excpet Temptations, I suspect she is finishing off quite a few of Snopuffs dinners becasue Tati is getting quite large and makes Snopuff look like she is losing even more than she actually is. Snopuff will eat NO treats. We have a tried a bunch. She doesn't even like lunch meats, or pieces of meat from our plate. Meds, we have gotten into compounding them... its nice to have so many ideas, but we are still hoping that the meds don't become a daily thing for life... we just want her to get well.

So on the variety of cat food... we have tried everything (or at leat almost). Neither cat likes fishy food, and since I cant stand the smell, I am happy about that. The current favorite food is Max Cat Chunks. Dry food is always out, but they never touch the stuff. Wet food is out twice a day and they both just go and take a few bites, then want attention, and then go back for a few more bites... sometimes its all gone when I get home from work, sometimes we toss out whats left and give them some fresh when we have our supper. We have indeed tried the mroe reasonably priced foods like friskies and fancyfeast, and once and a while if you throw it in, they may take a few nibbles, but if you do it two days in a row, they will not eat it. Both girls seem to enjoy the duck, venison, and chicken and when I give them something besides Max Cat, I try to give them the beef, and they are like Whoa, whats that? thats pretty good... until the second day. At first, I tried to give them both the same thing so they would not eat each others foods, and then I tried putting out two different kinds, but they would both go after the same bowl either way. I was reading another thread about raw food and I may have to look more into that.

I wonder if the refrigerated dog foods are okay for cats?

nansiludie · Jul 31, 2015

MollyBlue said:
Well the food issue is really complex as she is not the only cat eating, and they are fed wet food twice daily, sometimes more if they can fanaggle it. We also have a ragdoll that we got to be a companion for snopuff and while THAT cat would like me to believe she will positively DIE if I give her anything excpet Temptations, I suspect she is finishing off quite a few of Snopuffs dinners becasue Tati is getting quite large and makes Snopuff look like she is losing even more than she actually is. Snopuff will eat NO treats. We have a tried a bunch. She doesn't even like lunch meats, or pieces of meat from our plate. Meds, we have gotten into compounding them... its nice to have so many ideas, but we are still hoping that the meds don't become a daily thing for life... we just want her to get well.

So on the variety of cat food... we have tried everything (or at leat almost). Neither cat likes fishy food, and since I cant stand the smell, I am happy about that. The current favorite food is Max Cat Chunks. Dry food is always out, but they never touch the stuff. Wet food is out twice a day and they both just go and take a few bites, then want attention, and then go back for a few more bites... sometimes its all gone when I get home from work, sometimes we toss out whats left and give them some fresh when we have our supper. We have indeed tried the mroe reasonably priced foods like friskies and fancyfeast, and once and a while if you throw it in, they may take a few nibbles, but if you do it two days in a row, they will not eat it. Both girls seem to enjoy the duck, venison, and chicken and when I give them something besides Max Cat, I try to give them the beef, and they are like Whoa, whats that? thats pretty good... until the second day. At first, I tried to give them both the same thing so they would not eat each others foods, and then I tried putting out two different kinds, but they would both go after the same bowl either way. I was reading another thread about raw food and I may have to look more into that.

I wonder if the refrigerated dog foods are okay for cats?

No, I would not advise dog food. It is not sufficient in protein and especially taurine for the cats. Fresh Pet does make a cat line of fridge foods. I've also heard good things about Stella and Chewy freeze dried cat food. I personally have not used it but others here have, it is expensive though.

mrsgreenjeens · Jul 31, 2015

If you're talking about FreshPet in the refrigerator section, no, I don't think the dog food is ok for cats, but now they actually make a slice and serve one for cats, part chicken, part beef! The reason the dog food isn't good for cats is that they don't add Taurine, which is essential for cats.

Have you tried Earthborn Ranch Stew? My Callie LOVES it. It's shredded beef in gravy, grain free, with teeny bits of vegies, which I try to pick out, but they are so small it doesn't bother me too much that they are in there. If you two are beef lovers, they might like it. I think it's pretty new. I'd never seen it before 2 days ago. Also, Merrick Cowboy Cookout? Another beef entree. Chunks and gravy, grain free. Merrick Beef Wellington is another one. Merrick also has some chicken food, like chicken pot pie

stephanietx · Jul 31, 2015

Even the older, Fancy Feast Classic is grain free. We feed Innova EVO Venison and the Chicken/Turkey canned food. For dry, my crew likes Taste of the Wild Mountain something or other. It comes in a green bag. If they ever change the color of the bag, I'm sunk! LOL

As for the tests, I'm not sure the cost. I would call the vet and ask them so you can plan and budget.

mollyblue · Aug 3, 2015

the name Merrick isn't ringing a bell, is there a brand name its sold under? Petco carries a brand that has the beef wellington, chicken potpie, cowboy, cook out, a whole bunch of others. the last time I purchased that brand,the cats did not care for it, but then after I went on abo how they only like the max cat, they have stated boycotting even that. So I guess we really do need to switch it up a bit more often, and instead of giving them each a can, just give them a half a can each, so their food dishs spend a bit more time empty.

I have not seen he Earthborn, but I will keep a look out for that one.

As for budgeting for cats care... I realize pets come with a pricetag... but it is sad to say, I think snopuff will be our last shelter cat. The price tag to adopt a shelter cat is very high here,... and then to have these ongoing medical bills on top of that... I am diabetic and I do not spend as much on my own care as we have been spending on this cat. I think I will just get strays, or baby kittens from irresponsible people who did not get their own cats fixed. .

catpack · Aug 3, 2015

The Beef Wellington, Chicken Pot Pie, etc are all made by Merrick.

catladyvettech · Aug 3, 2015

Convenia is a pretty safe medication and is ok to give more than once. However, it sounds to me like your cat has the herpesvirus in which case antibiotics of any sort are useless (unless a flare up turns into a secondary bacterial infection). Antibiotics do not work on viruses. She needs L-lysine supplements and an antiviral medication. I don't understand why your vet has given so many convenia injections. Also, if they are giving it for some sort of infection they should realize that if the infection keeps coming back, it's likely they're not giving the correct antibiotic for that type of bacteria. Also, in my experience oral/subcutaneous antibiotics aren't very helpful or used very often for eye infections. Topical medications work better for that. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding your post, but I'm quite confused by your vet's course of action. Time for a second opinion perhaps?

mollyblue · Aug 4, 2015

Hi Cat Lady. Let me see if I can condense - first, this is my daughters cat and she is the one who does all the vet appointments...

We started fostering in late December (after Christmas). She was in a separate cage in a free roam shelter. The shelter advised it was because the other cats picked on her. She did have mat in her eyes and and slightly dirty nose already when we decided to foster her, but we didn't worry too much, just thought well we will get her home and sort what is what. This was on Saturday afternoon. Once we got her home, she was sneezing a lot, and her eyes were watery. Sunday morning, they were matted pretty good. Monday morning, my daughter took her back to the vet at the shelter. They gave her an ointment for her eyes, and I believe doxycyclene (sp). After seven days, there was no change in her condition, neither in her eyes, or sneezing, and the mucus was getting thicker, darker. We took her back to the vet at the shelter, and they did not have any record of treating the cat (and at this point, we were still fostering). After they finally decided maybe they had treated her before, the vet was very rude to my daughter and was questioning her about if the cats coat always looked so bad, was she losing weight or was she always this skinny, etc. (Back History - the cat was found at a local lake, had mange really bad and was very underweight. I am not sure how long she was in the shelter before we took her home, but her hair was growing back in, but was very thin and unruly, and she weighed about 6.2 pounds). The vet advised to continune with the eye creme, and did not give other medicine for the sinus (infection) sneezing, etc. Part of the agreement when fostering an animal is that you return it to the shelter vet for treatment, but we were unhappy with this appointment... they didn't have the cats file, the initial treatment didn't show any improvement in the cat, and no additional treatment was provided. So, we took her to our vet. Our vet is the one who gave the convenia injection. Also wanted to do dental surgery to remove a tooth, and prescribed an eye drop instead of the ointment. Our vet reqeusted the records for the cat which got us in trouble with the Shelter and the Shelter called and said we needed to bring the cat back to be seen by them, so my daughter made an appointment to go back in there, but by that time, the convenia injection and eye drops were working, and the cat was feeling better, gaining weight, and her eyes were clearing up. The shelter vet said that oral surgery for the cat was unnecessary and would not authorize nor perform any dental work. She had gained weight up to 7 lbs by this time, and the Shelter vet took no action. By this time it is February. We had a vacation scheduled before we decided to foster the cat, and the shelter rules are that you must bring the cat back to them anytime you will be out of town, so in mid February, the cat had to go back to the shelter for 7- days. When we went to pick up the cat, her eyes were matted again, her nose was crusty, and we decided just to adopt her and be done with it. We love the little girl...and feel bad that she was so sick and not getting proper treatment. After getting her home, she was back to sneezing all the time, and she was frequently throwing up and having loose stools. A girl I work with recommended her vet who makes house calls, and is supposed to be cheaper than regular vets becasue of the low overhead of not maintaining an office. We decided to give him a try because we planned on having the dental work done and hoped to save some money on it. The home visit vet said the cat had an upper respiratory infection and gave her an oral antibiotic (flavamox). I am not sure if he said the tooth was fine, or if he just recommended that we get URI under control first, all I know is she still has not had the tooth pulled. She did not do well on the flavamox. She hated it... she would spit it out or throw it up everytime we gave it to her. On follow-up, he gave her a convenia injection because she was not getting better. She has been on the L-lysine gel for months. She went through her first tube of it, and she was feeling better and we undermined the importance the L-lysine had played in that and slacked off on giving it to her.

So, to current day, we discontinued seeing the vet who made housecalls because of all the vets we have seen, we really like the guy a couple blocks from us. He is great, his staff is great, and we developed a relationship with him when he was treating our old cat that died in November of chronic renal failure and the home visit vet was not turning out to be any less expensive. Both our vet, and the home visit vet had told us that the best thing to do is just to give her the L-lysine and to let her develop antibodies or a tolerance or whatever to deal with her upper respiratory - so for a couple of months, thats what we have been doing. But she has just been riding a roller coaster with some days better and days worse, but has not been well. The Shelter vet said she did nto have herpes. We told our vet we suspected she did at the first appointment way back about the time of the first convenia injection and our vet said he was hesitant to say thats what it was without trying to clear it up through treatment first - and she did respond to his treatment. The traveling vet agreed with my daughter that it probably is herpes, but our cat did not respond well to his treatment.

Since December 28, the cat has had 3 upper respiratory infections, a urinary tract infection, an eye infection, drainage from her ears, senstive tummy issues, etc. I am not disagreeing that she probably does have herpes, but I know the cat also has allergies. She loves to go for walks, but when she sniffs stuff outside, she starts sneezing, she gets watery eyes, etc. I think she is also sensitive to candle scents because she will avoid my room if I burn candles. She is also prone to infection and wehther that is becasuse of herpes or allergies, I cannot say. You can literally see the poor cats head swell up and get lumpy when she gets infection. So, we went to vet last week, and he said he thinks that this could still be the infection she had when we got her from the Shelter, and that treatment has caused it to get better, but it has never gotten completely well, and we tend to agree. Thats why I wanted to know about how often it is safe to have the covenia injection. She goes back in for a follow-up tomorrow, and while we are taking her to our vet, who we have a relationship with, and who we trust, we would also like to have an idea of how we want to proceed because sometimes he gives us a choice in treatment, and if he suggests we just wait and see how she does, but she still is not well, I just don't want her to go downhill again. It keeps taking her longer and longer to come back up.

nansiludie · Aug 4, 2015

MollyBlue said:
Hi Cat Lady. Let me see if I can condense - first, this is my daughters cat and she is the one who does all the vet appointments...

We started fostering in late December (after Christmas). She was in a separate cage in a free roam shelter. The shelter advised it was because the other cats picked on her. She did have mat in her eyes and and slightly dirty nose already when we decided to foster her, but we didn't worry too much, just thought well we will get her home and sort what is what. This was on Saturday afternoon. Once we got her home, she was sneezing a lot, and her eyes were watery. Sunday morning, they were matted pretty good. Monday morning, my daughter took her back to the vet at the shelter. They gave her an ointment for her eyes, and I believe doxycyclene (sp). After seven days, there was no change in her condition, neither in her eyes, or sneezing, and the mucus was getting thicker, darker. We took her back to the vet at the shelter, and they did not have any record of treating the cat (and at this point, we were still fostering). After they finally decided maybe they had treated her before, the vet was very rude to my daughter and was questioning her about if the cats coat always looked so bad, was she losing weight or was she always this skinny, etc. (Back History - the cat was found at a local lake, had mange really bad and was very underweight. I am not sure how long she was in the shelter before we took her home, but her hair was growing back in, but was very thin and unruly, and she weighed about 6.2 pounds). The vet advised to continune with the eye creme, and did not give other medicine for the sinus (infection) sneezing, etc. Part of the agreement when fostering an animal is that you return it to the shelter vet for treatment, but we were unhappy with this appointment... they didn't have the cats file, the initial treatment didn't show any improvement in the cat, and no additional treatment was provided. So, we took her to our vet. Our vet is the one who gave the convenia injection. Also wanted to do dental surgery to remove a tooth, and prescribed an eye drop instead of the ointment. Our vet reqeusted the records for the cat which got us in trouble with the Shelter and the Shelter called and said we needed to bring the cat back to be seen by them, so my daughter made an appointment to go back in there, but by that time, the convenia injection and eye drops were working, and the cat was feeling better, gaining weight, and her eyes were clearing up. The shelter vet said that oral surgery for the cat was unnecessary and would not authorize nor perform any dental work. She had gained weight up to 7 lbs by this time, and the Shelter vet took no action. By this time it is February. We had a vacation scheduled before we decided to foster the cat, and the shelter rules are that you must bring the cat back to them anytime you will be out of town, so in mid February, the cat had to go back to the shelter for 7- days. When we went to pick up the cat, her eyes were matted again, her nose was crusty, and we decided just to adopt her and be done with it. We love the little girl...and feel bad that she was so sick and not getting proper treatment. After getting her home, she was back to sneezing all the time, and she was frequently throwing up and having loose stools. A girl I work with recommended her vet who makes house calls, and is supposed to be cheaper than regular vets becasue of the low overhead of not maintaining an office. We decided to give him a try because we planned on having the dental work done and hoped to save some money on it. The home visit vet said the cat had an upper respiratory infection and gave her an oral antibiotic (flavamox). I am not sure if he said the tooth was fine, or if he just recommended that we get URI under control first, all I know is she still has not had the tooth pulled. She did not do well on the flavamox. She hated it... she would spit it out or throw it up everytime we gave it to her. On follow-up, he gave her a convenia injection because she was not getting better. She has been on the L-lysine gel for months. She went through her first tube of it, and she was feeling better and we undermined the importance the L-lysine had played in that and slacked off on giving it to her.

So, to current day, we discontinued seeing the vet who made housecalls because of all the vets we have seen, we really like the guy a couple blocks from us. He is great, his staff is great, and we developed a relationship with him when he was treating our old cat that died in November of chronic renal failure and the home visit vet was not turning out to be any less expensive. Both our vet, and the home visit vet had told us that the best thing to do is just to give her the L-lysine and to let her develop antibodies or a tolerance or whatever to deal with her upper respiratory - so for a couple of months, thats what we have been doing. But she has just been riding a roller coaster with some days better and days worse, but has not been well. The Shelter vet said she did nto have herpes. We told our vet we suspected she did at the first appointment way back about the time of the first convenia injection and our vet said he was hesitant to say thats what it was without trying to clear it up through treatment first - and she did respond to his treatment. The traveling vet agreed with my daughter that it probably is herpes, but our cat did not respond well to his treatment.

Since December 28, the cat has had 3 upper respiratory infections, a urinary tract infection, an eye infection, drainage from her ears, senstive tummy issues, etc. I am not disagreeing that she probably does have herpes, but I know the cat also has allergies. She loves to go for walks, but when she sniffs stuff outside, she starts sneezing, she gets watery eyes, etc. I think she is also sensitive to candle scents because she will avoid my room if I burn candles. She is also prone to infection and wehther that is becasuse of herpes or allergies, I cannot say. You can literally see the poor cats head swell up and get lumpy when she gets infection. So, we went to vet last week, and he said he thinks that this could still be the infection she had when we got her from the Shelter, and that treatment has caused it to get better, but it has never gotten completely well, and we tend to agree. Thats why I wanted to know about how often it is safe to have the covenia injection. She goes back in for a follow-up tomorrow, and while we are taking her to our vet, who we have a relationship with, and who we trust, we would also like to have an idea of how we want to proceed because sometimes he gives us a choice in treatment, and if he suggests we just wait and see how she does, but she still is not well, I just don't want her to go downhill again. It keeps taking her longer and longer to come back up.

Okay, this is a bit of a mess. I feel very badly for your kitty. You did her a good service by adopting her but the underlying issues still need to be addressed and by reading your post it seems like about 3 Vets have not done it. I do not think it will be good to keep giving Covenia injections, there is something more going on here. I have a cat that has allergies, he takes half of a Zrytec tablet twice daily and that is a 10mg tablet total for the day. Is your cat on any allergy medication? She should be. I am thinking that you should see if any Vet will run a bacteria sensitivity test and culture on the nasal discharge and see what it is and which antibiotic would be best to treat it, I am thinking that the next stronger medication may be Orbax or Baytril. Any daily antibiotic will work better then the Covenia. What food and brand do you feed her? I am afraid if you do not get this URI under control it may turn into pneumonia. Has she ever had a FIV/FeLV test done? Given she is from a shelter and was previously a stray, she should have been given it but if not that would be a good test to run. I do agree that she should not have any dental or any other surgery/anesthesia until this infection is cleared because it would up the risk of her passing away during surgery. Has a recent fecal test been run? Given she has runny stools and an slightly unkempt coat she may have roundworms or some other intestinal parasite. Please keep us posted on her. Such a sweet girl dealt such a tough start in life. Also if you can get her some goat milk or KMR it has extra nutrients and will help her gain weight.

How often is it safe for a cat to have covenia injections?

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Every Life Should Have Nine Cats

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