Very poorly cat...

Hi all, I took my cat Choc to the vets on Tues as she'd been a little wobbly and the glands round her neck are swollen. The vet thinks it's toothache so gave her a two week injection of antibiotics, along with Metacam. Choc's on a low dose (2ml) due to her age (17). Since taking her to the vets she's been sleeping alot more and eating alot less. My partner has done some reading into Metacam, and there seems to be conflicting views. Guess am wanting to know if anyone has had a similar experience with an older cat, and roughly how long it took to see positive change. She is due back at the vets on Mon, but I am concerned. She seems worse off than before I took her. Haven't given her any Metacam today as she hasn't eaten since this morning, but is still drinking.

I also know that cos of her age it may just be just that, old age.

Thank you =)

Is metacam just a pain killer? If she has a tooth infection she should be on antibiotics. When my cat had one, she was on clavamox for it and it cleared up. If you do get antibiotics you might want to use some probiotics in case intestinal upset happens.

Yes metacam is just a painkiller, anti-inflammatory etc.  It does make cats a little sleepy.   If you have the liquid metacam, make sure to give it with food and not just the liquid alone on an empty tummy.   I don't think it's good for a cat to be on metacam long-term, but it does seem to offer good pain relief.

I agree w/the above - but Clindamycin (versus Clavamox) is the preferred antibiotic for a dental infection.

Clavamox is better for abscesses, skin/tissue infection.

I would think that for your cat she needs an antibiotic - pain relief is good, but that's all Metacam is - just a painkiller.  It will not fight the source of an infection - just relieves the pain from said infection.

Thank you for your advice. Sadly Chocolate passed away this morning. We were told it could of been a possible tumour on her spine. I regret not asking for blood test to of been done on Tues to of saved her the pain she must of been in during these past few days.

Oh I'm so sorry about your Chocolate - but you gave her a good long life at 17.   Don't tear yourself up over the last few days - there's no good time to put an animal to sleep - either way, you'll worry if it was too soon or too late.  We just do the best we can, and I'm sure that the kitties know that.  Again I'm very sorry for your loss.     

I'm so very sorry.  The TCS Team offers our condolences on our loss.  We will lock the thread now as a sign of respect.  We invite you to post a tribute to your kitty in our Crossing the Bridge forum:  http://www.thecatsite.com/f/19/crossing-the-bridge