Cat and Antibiotics

[ownedbykitties]

I have a 7 year old British Shorthair who is an indoor only cat that is neutered. A few days ago he stopped eating, was vomiting bile 2-3 times a day and is lethargic. He's been drinking more water than normal, which I assume is because he is not eating his canned food. I have seen him urinate, but I don't know if he's emptying his bowels as we have 3 other cats in the house. Yesterday I took him to the vet who did a physical exam and ran some tests. He didn't feel anything abnormal on him and pointed out his bladder was empty, however he was a little dehydrated. His kidney and liver function were fine, glucose and electrolyte levels were fine, his temp was normal, and does not have FELV. His red and white blood cells were slightly elevated, but the vet told me the reds can be higher because of dehydration and his whites can be higher due to a "bug". He said he didn't believe he had a blockage of any kind or problems with his urinary tract. I asked how he could be dehydrated as he's been drinking more than normal and he said he wasn't sure. He gave him a shot of anitbiotics and subcutaneous liquids. His vomiting has decreased, only one small drop the size of a quarter since leaving the vet's office yesterday, which is an improvement - but he still won't eat and seems even more lethargic than before. I have had cats in the past treated for these kinds of unexplained "bugs" with antibiotics, but in those instances they perked up within just a few hours. It's been 24 hours now so I'm a little worried. I know some cats can get side effects from the antiobiotics, but some are the same symptoms he had prior so I don't know if this is why. My vet says the only other thing he would try is putting him on IV fluids for a couple of days. When should I realistically expect improvement?

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

not knowing what is wrong, it's hard to say when you can expect an improvement.  All I can tell you is that when my Sven used to get Clavamox (antibiotic), it made him feel awful, and he had no appetite for the entire time it was in his system.  If your guy was dehydrated and was given fluids, that should have perked him up immediately, I would think. 

Has he eaten NOTHING for the past few days, because if so, that could definitely cause lethargy, but is also quite dangerous in cats.  You did mention that to the Vet, didn't you.  Not eating in cats can quickly result in Hepatic Lipidosis, but my understanding is that it doesn't show up immediately in blood tests.  I don't want to scare you, but it's imperative that he get food in him one way or another.  Here is a link about that:

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/239642/hepatic-lipidosis-home-remedy-of-force-feeding

that he starts eating on his own and kicks whatever is ailing him.

 

[jessica00]

When i had to put my cat on anti biotics she got really really bad poops (cow patties) and vomited several times a day. They could very well be side effects. Wait another day and see what happens. a good way to force feed cats is to mush it up into a soup, when mine was sick i pretty much drenched her canned food and mushed it up, or even tuna juice.
 

 

[ownedbykitties]

Yes I told the vet everything. Him not eating is really not at all like him as he loves to eat (but he's not overweight). Yesterday he was pretty tired, he has perked up a little today. I have begun syringe feeding him because he still would not eat. I'm giving him small amounts throughout the day in hopes this may jump start his appetite/digestive system, not to mention trying to avoid liver complications. Although he was always able to keep his water down, I was still really afraid he would throw up the food but he hasn't. He last vomited well over 12 hours ago.

Thank you for the help. I was afraid to literally force feed him because some people seem to frown on that, but after reading about it, I gathered up the courage so thank you!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

.  Glad he's doing ok with the force feeding.  You may need to keep it for awhile...until he's eating plenty on his own.  Even when he starts eating on his own, you may need to supplement with force feeding.
 

 

[white shadow]

...I don't know if he's emptying his bowels as we have 3 other cats in the house....

Welcome to the forum, OwnedByKitties!

Determining who's doing what in the litterboxes can be challenging for multicat guardians. One solution in your situation would be to isolate Mr. British Shorthair with food, water and litter...and wait/watch.

Alternatively:

In a multi-cat household, it can sometimes be difficult to figure out which cat is producing which stool or who is not pooping. One way to sort things out is to feed each cat, in turn, a small amount of baby food beets. Be forewarned that beets may also color the urine, a harmless effect, and that will probably occur more quickly than the beets coloring the stool. Wait a couple of days before giving the beets to the next cat so you are sure whose results are whose.   http://www.felineconstipation.org/acutetreatment.html

Originally Posted by OwnedByKitties  

..I know some cats can get side effects from the antiobiotics...

Two of those side effects can be constipation or diarrhea. The antibiotic destroys bacteria in the intestine which are required for "processing" the cat's food and throws the system into chaos. Anytime a cat is given antibiotics, it is advisable to also give probiotics. Usually the advice is to give them in between doses of antibiotic. Probiotics will help restore the gut bacteria balance and reduce the potential/severity of those side effects.

One question for you: should we continue to call him Mr. British Shorthair...?

 

 

[april donovan]

My male cat had crystals and he had to get unblocked on the 24 of december, since him being home on the medication .hes not eating AT ALL ,hes vommiting as well

i try to mix his food with water and feed it to him in a syringe but he just vomits it up..im worried and the vet said give it time,,,,i dont agfree

 

[airtourla]

My approximately 10yrs FIV rescue cat is on antibiotics. Want to restore her gut health? so probiotics is the answer? Where do I get them? Vet or pet store?
Thanks
Aloha
S

 

[aimeec]

Fortiflora (for cats, made by Purina) is a powder probiotic that has always worked great for me with cats or kittens with diarrhea. It usually clears things up within a few days and the taste hasn't seemed to bother any of the cats. It's easiest to mix it in with their favorite wet food.

 

[donutte]

I know my first thought with those symptoms would been kidney disease, but that sounds like it was ruled out. I'm also surprised he's dehydrated if he's drinking more water, though I suppose it's still possible that it's not enough water to make up for what he'd get in his food.

Glad to hear you were able to start syringe feeding! It is not a bad thing, it is you trying to stabilize your baby so he can get better. Whatever is making him sick can't be addressed if he's unstable due to not getting enough nutrition.

As far as antibiotic, which one are you giving him? I'm giving Sara Clavamox right now, and after 3 days, so far so good. There is a big orange sticker on it saying "GIVE WITH FOOD" so I've been making sure to do that. Her appetite has been pretty good so far, I've been watching her really close to make sure she's eating and also to make sure she's not throwing up (both were a problem that spurred the vet visit on Tuesday).

Hopefully they'll be able to get something with which to do a urinalysis as it sounds like that is the only thing they've not been able to do.