Medicine Life

How long do most refridgerated meds last? Like Amoxi, Clavamox, Cephalexin, etc... One of the bottles says 14 days, but is that strictly 14 days only? Is it bad after that? Can it still be used? I had a kitten that passed away while on Amoxi and I always used a clean dropper when I gave him his meds so its not contaminated or anything. It has been about a month though. Can I still use it when my other cats get a little cold?

It isn't really that it goes bad, although it could. The main thing is that it gradually loses strength and that after 14 days it isn't at the labeled strength any more. So after a month it is probably quite weak. Some medicines, like Zithromax are only good for ten days. Some medicines you can put into small syringes when they are fresh and freeze them to keep them good longer, but you would have to check with a pharmacist to see which ones, because freezing can change the chemical nature of some of them. It is too bad, because even when you don't skip any doses, after ten days of antibiotics there is still a lot left. Becky

Hi Jen,

First, it depends on the particular medication, they have different rates of breakdown. If it's labeled discard after 14 days you should do so, as the medication is no longer effective.

The second thing is if you don't know that what you are treating is susceptible to the medication you've decided to use, you are not doing your cat any favors. Cats like humans can build a resistence to antibiotics I believe, so they need to be used only when necessary, and the right antibiotic needs to be used for what's wrong. It's really best to see your vet when you feel a kitty is ill.

Originally Posted by Pat & Alix

Hi Jen,

First, it depends on the particular medication, they have different rates of breakdown. If it's labeled discard after 14 days you should do so, as the medication is no longer effective.

The second thing is if you don't know that what you are treating is susceptible to the medication you've decided to use, you are not doing your cat any favors. Cats like humans can build a resistence to antibiotics I believe, so they need to be used only when necessary, and the right antibiotic needs to be used for what's wrong. It's really best to see your vet when you feel a kitty is ill.

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Yes I know this and I don't do it all the time. At the shelter I work at, I am used to observing what is wrong with the cats and knowing what meds they need for it. We determine what is wrong with the cats and med them ourselves. When a cat gets a runny nose and is sneezing, we don't rush them to the vet, we know what to give them for it(or we ask the boss to be sure). Unless it gets bad then obviouslly its off to an actual vet for them. (we also have test and things too to find out if they have UTI's and stuff like that so they can get the right meds)

Usually when one of my cats or my foster cats gets sick, I just go in and say my cat has a runny nose and is sneezing, I need some meds and they tell me what they need or give it to me. I could take them to a vet everytime, but usually it lasts a couple days and is gone. Sometimes I don't give them meds at all, just make sure everything else is going ok with them and it clears up on its own. It helps too that they aren't in a stuffy shelter coming into contact with other strange sick cats. There colds clear up faster at home