Covenia

My kitten was given a Covenia injection at the vet today. Spent most of the day in a dead sleep. We kept checking to make sure she was still alive. I looked up the side effects and it brought me to a thread here on The Cat Site and I'm afraid now that I have read the horrible things that this med caused to happen to these cats. even the death of some cats.

Stella just came home from surgery after having cotton balls removed from her stomach. She was given a pain med called Buprenorphine. The last dose she had of that was 9pm last night. So this isn't the side effect of that med.

She was given Covenia today because the top of her stitches are swollen.

She just underwent major surgery i think its normal to have her hibernate for a couple days because she's not feeling well.

One of the major side effects is excessive lethargy, unfortunately. 

My personal experience with convenia with two different cats at two different life stages and a couple of years apart is the excessive lethargy and barely moving.  They both didn't get up except to eat and use the litter box for about 10 days.  This is why I have a "NO CONVENIA" note on each of my kitties' charts.  Depending on the situation, I might be convinced to use it. 

If you're still concerned about the medication, you can get your kitty to an ER vet and have sub-q fluids administered to flush the medication out of her system.  Other than that, keep a close eye on her.

I remember reading all the scary stuff about Convenia on here. I also was concerned. I believe Patches has received it twice now. Each time she was super tired but no other problems.

This is very important, I think, the issues with Convenia. My new cat has just been given a shot of this for an "upper respiratory infection" that I think is not true. I just now, after reading these comments, checked the drug online and am SHOCKED at the amount of complaints regarding Convenia.....on top of this, it is not a med for respiratory infections, it is used for skin infections. What gives????? I am very upset at this vet.

However, Domino has not exhibited lethargy at all since Thursday a.m. when she got the shot.....but she has NO appetite, not even water appeals to her so I gave her milk and she did drink it all. I thought some fluid is better than none, milk somewhat better than water. Thanks for the comment about "No Convenia" on the cat's chart. I will request that too. AM

We use convenia quite regularly at my hospital and I've never seen/heard of an adverse reaction. I agree with what #hexiesfriend said that her lethargy could just be caused by her surgery and all the stressful events that occurred too.

Definitely keep a close eye on her. Antibiotics can sometimes cause vomiting and diarrhea but I've only seen that happen with oral medications. Best of luck, hope your kitty feels better soon! (And stays away from the cotton balls!)

I will only ask for it for those kitty's I have that aren't good medicine takers. I have never had any issue with Convenia but I think if your cat will take medicine either pill or liquid consistently then that should be the choice. I have one cat I can't pill or give liquid to and if he has any issues he gets a Convenia injection instead of conventional antibiotics. The problem with antibiotics is if you don't get all the liquid or the whole pill in the for every dose you can end up with resistent bacteria. I don't think you have w trying to worry about with the Convenia. I think it was probably suggested because she has gone through a lot already due to surgery and may not appreciate having to take oral antibiotics on top of that. Hope your baby feels better!!

I have used Covenia many, many times over the years with no problems at all. My vet and I opt for this type of antibiotic rather than me having to deal with stressing out the sick cat by giving pills twice daily. Never had any noticeable side effects from Covenia - none negative for sure. Always worked very well for my kitties.

MEGA vibes for little Stella and for you, hun. Hang in there. This has been a very unsettling and stressful time for both you and your mother. It sounds like you have great vets and that is so important to give you peace of mind. :nod: :rub: :heart2:

I'm relieved to read that there are cats that didn't have severe reactions to this med. Stella does sleep a lot now. She gets up to eat. She is eating both wet and dry food. She is using the litter box.

She won't drink any water on her own no matter what. She even pushes the bowl away. She has been given fluids, but she can't live on fluids from the vet her whole life. But she started this up before the Covenia.

I didn't know you could request a certain med not to be given to your cat on their med charts.

If she is eating wet food I wouldn't worry too much about the water intake. I'd give her a couple days to bounce back. She's young and will bounce back soon.

Right.  If she's eating wet food, and you're still concerned about her intake, you can always add a teaspoon or so into wet food to make a thick oatmeal-like consistency.  If she had sub-q fluids, she may still be well hydrated from that.

How long does the sub-q fluids last? Maybe she just isn't thirsty from that?

We do mix water into her wet meals, but she always drank water just fine before this surgery.