Tolfedine injection - adverse reaction

Hello,

I have just found this site.

On Friday, our nine years old cat COSMO was given an injection of TOLFEDINE ( for a minor injury to his foot caused by trying to catch a moth! ) along with his usual annual vaccinations. Within 6 hours he had lost a huge patch of fur on his back and the whole area was red and inflamed. He seems to be in considerable discomfort. Our vet has prescribed  LOCATOP cream twice daily. As all cat lovers will know, not an easy task as he just licks it off. He can just about get his head around to reach it. This of course causes more irritation to the skin.

He is rapidly losing his fur and there is now a bald patch about 5cmx3cm more or less between his shoulder blades.

Does anyone have experience of this reaction? Is it treatable? I have read on the internet - not that I believe everything I read there -  that there is a chance that he could develop INFECTION SITE SARCOMA. 

I would be most grateful for any advice. My daughter and I are Swiss (I am a retired psychologist) but we having been living here in Tunisia for almost 10 years. Unfortunately, animal welfare is not a huge priority down here, to say the least and most medicines are hard to come by. Our vet is French, luckily, but even he cannot always get everything he needs. If there is a medicine which is not available down here, I would back to Switzerland or the UK if neccessary.

Thank you in advance.

Did this give him his vaccinations in the same spot (between his shoulder blades)?  I am quite surprised they gave ANY injections here, as the newest protocol is to give all injections either in the legs or even the tail just in case of injection site sarcoma, which can happen, but is still quite rare.  It can happen with basically any injection, researchers are finding.   But the reason I ask whether all shots were given in the same place was wondering if the reaction was definitely to the Tolfedine, or possibly to the Vaccines?  Not that the treatment would be different, but if it's to the vaccine, then you might not want to vaccinate him again.  AT the age of 9, he probably has built up enough antigens to hold him for his lifetime anyway.. 

BUT, your question is really what to do now.  Other than but a cone/collar on him to prevent  him from licking, or maybe a baby onesy to cover it up so he can't get to it, I don't know.  Is your Vet having you cleanse it with anything as well, before applying the cream?  I'm actually surprised he can reach between his shoulders. 

I'm not able to gather any information on the cream you are using.  Everything I pull up via the internet is in another language   I'm presuming it will work fine once you get him to quit licking it off

BTW, THIS is a cat in a onesy:

Hi Kattous and welcome to the forum ! (I LUV your username!)

I have most of the same questions/concerns as mrsgreenjeens re locations of these injections, and........

Tolfedine is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)......cats are unique in their inability to metabolize NSAIDs the way other mammals do...they have not evolved with the requisite liver enzymes and, so, they have a very narrow margin of safety in cats. Yet, the almighty dollar rules, so the drug peddlers manufacturers continue to roll out newer versions. The major damage is to kidney tissue....my cats "come" with sufficient kidney cells to last a full lifetime; I won't reduce that potential by using NSAIDS when other safe opiod alternatives are available to manage pain...and, I've lived long enough to know that inflammation from minor trauma is self-managing with time. Google "nsaids and cats".....I will never allow the use of any NSAID in my cats. (OK...never say never...so, IF a cat were terminally ill and, IF an opiod drug wouldn't relieve pain....then, maybe I would try a NSAID)  NSAIDs come in other forms besides injectable - same poison, though.

You probably know that LOCATOP is a steroidal product...he should NOT be ingesting that.

mrs g showed you the onesie...there are more alternatives to an e-collar....a search on this site will help, otherwise Mr Goo should help you.

She also raised the question of the need for re-vaccination....there's a piece on this by a well-respected Veteinarian (who has her feet planted firmly on the ground, btw) right here: (it's not something that can be fully absorbed/understood in a qiuick read, though....but time invested there may prove invaluable)  Vaccines for Cats: We Need to Stop Over-Vaccinating - Lisa A. Pierson, DVM

The very latest technique to further reduce the potential damage from injection site sarcomas is to vaccinate in the tail, as far from the body as possible. Google: "tail vaccination in cats" - there is research and a video for you.

I hope something there helps.