Cat Won't Eat or Drink After Convenia Injection

[Firejade1]

Hello,

My 10 y/o ragdoll mix is prone to getting crystals in her bladder. She fights us to tooth and nail to get any meds in her, pill or liquid. When she got a crystals in her bladder two times ago, she got the shot and was fine, and then we gave it to her another time about a year later and she was lethargic and didn't want to eat for about a day and then was fine after that. She had signs of a urinary issue again, and they gave her a urinalysis and said she had a UTI, so they gave her the shot (Friday) again since it's almost impossible to administer oral medication. I wouldn't have gotten her the shot if she'd had any major issues with it in the past, but she didn't. We also did a senior wellness bloodwork, and everything is normal in her bloodwork.

She came home and started eating that Friday night and early the next day. By Saturday night, she would eat her food. She also didn't eat Sunday and grew increasingly lethargic and hiding. She drank water Sunday morning and has also stopped drinking. She threw up a little bile Sunday evening. We try to get her to eat or drink but she wouldn't. I called the vet and got some appetite stimulant (mirataz). I rubbed in on her ear about two hours ago, and so far she hasn't eaten anything. I'm getting worried. I don't like taking her in because they have to sedate her just to do anything and is stresses her out so much. Normally she only eats her dry food. She doesn't eat any other kinds of cat food, won't eat treats, tuna, chicken, wet food, or human food. I'm worried so much because we had a cat that stopped eating and they never could figure out why and we had to put her down. I'm having health problems of my own too. Any suggestions on what to do to help her? If she's not eating by tonight, I'm going to take her in for sub-q fluids and to see what else they can do. Does it sometimes take longer for the appetite stimulant to work? Please help. I'm so worried.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Cat can become allergic to things they once weren't at any given time, so she could be having a reaction to the Convenia injection. Or perhaps this time the dosage is larger than before, increasing the odds of side effects.

I am surprised that the vet didn't start out with some sort of anti-nausea med as opposed to jumping right to an appetite stimulant. If your cat is nauseous, you can imagine how that might feel to be hungry and nauseous at the same time. Nonetheless, Mirataz can take anywhere from a few hours to several hours, if not more, to take effect. It just varies by cat.

You can try to give her some baby food meat (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut) as most cats like it, even those who aren't feeling very well. There are a ton of lickable treats on the market, and she may be willing to eat some of those. Either of these options are relatively 'mild' non-complete food sources but might help her to get her appetite back. You could also try mixing a bit of 'juice' from canned tuna/chicken in water with her water to see if that would encourage her to drink some.

It is probably a very good idea to take her back to the vet - and, when you do ask about the anti-nausea meds. Cerenia is a common one and is available via injection.

I also know of one very mild sedative (butorphanol) that your cat might do well with - this was used on Feeby (17+ yo) just to help calm her down enough so they could shave her belly for an ultrasound. It didn't knock her out, it is short acting, and she had no lingering effects afterward.

 

[Firejade1]

Correction: I don't know how this was miscommunicated by phone, but the bleeding my cat was having around her bottom that made me suspect a UTI was a vulvar infection around her bottom. Everything else is the same. She wouldn't eat with the appetite stimulant so I dropped her off for IV fluids and treatment overnight. They'll give her anti nausea and keep giving her sub-q mertazapine.

 

[Firejade1]

Cat can become allergic to things they once weren't at any given time, so she could be having a reaction to the Convenia injection. Or perhaps this time the dosage is larger than before, increasing the odds of side effects.

I am surprised that the vet didn't start out with some sort of anti-nausea med as opposed to jumping right to an appetite stimulant. If your cat is nauseous, you can imagine how that might feel to be hungry and nauseous at the same time. Nonetheless, Mirataz can take anywhere from a few hours to several hours, if not more, to take effect. It just varies by cat.

You can try to give her some baby food meat (Gerber Stage 2 or Beechnut) as most cats like it, even those who aren't feeling very well. There are a ton of lickable treats on the market, and she may be willing to eat some of those. Either of these options are relatively 'mild' non-complete food sources but might help her to get her appetite back. You could also try mixing a bit of 'juice' from canned tuna/chicken in water with her water to see if that would encourage her to drink some.

It is probably a very good idea to take her back to the vet - and, when you do ask about the anti-nausea meds. Cerenia is a common one and is available via injection.

I also know of one very mild sedative (butorphanol) that your cat might do well with - this was used on Feeby (17+ yo) just to help calm her down enough so they could shave her belly for an ultrasound. It didn't knock her out, it is short acting, and she had no lingering effects afterward.

Thank you for your feedback. I will bring her home again tomorrow and see how it goes. I will use some of your suggestions if she is still having issues eating. I could see the stimulant had an effect, she would sniff the food, but still wouldn't eat it. Maybe it needed more time. I'm a bit paranoid about cats that won't eat and err on the side of caution since we had a cat that wasted away. We tried every test, medicine, and treatment we could think of and never found a clear cause. She wasted away and we had to let her go so she didn't suffer any more when it was beyond a certain point.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Correction: I don't know how this was miscommunicated by phone, but the bleeding my cat was having around her bottom that made me suspect a UTI was a vulvar infection around her bottom. Everything else is the same. She wouldn't eat with the appetite stimulant so I dropped her off for IV fluids and treatment overnight. They'll give her anti nausea and keep giving her sub-q mertazapine.

Yeah, I didn't see any of that in your original post. Vulvar is a term used to describe the tissue surrounding the outside of the vagina. While that can be an infection spread from the anus or the urethra to this area, I am unclear about the possible causes of blood being involved. I hope the vet is looking into this aspect, and that is what you meant by 'treatment'. not just treating her with fluids and more appetite stimulant. If she is in pain, that needs to also be addressed. No amount of appetite stimulant is going to override pain.

Is this cat spayed? If not, that can bring up a whole host of other possible conditions.

 

[Firejade1]

She was spayed when she was a kitten, and she was given pain meds at the vet Friday. The skin infection around that area must have been irritated from time to time and bled. It's difficult to see that part of her body because of her long fur.

 

[stephanietx]

These side effects are common with Convenia. It's why I have it on my do not give list for my kitties. It can take 21 days for the drug to begin working its way out of they kitty's system, though others start showing improvement in about 10 days. Do a search on this site for Convenia posts and you'll find a lot of information.

 

[Firejade1]

Will my cat start eating soon?

 

[Firejade1]

They kept her overnight, gave her IV fluids, appetite stimulant, and anti nausea medicine, but she still wouldn't eat. It may be because she gets so nervous at the vet they have to give her a sedative. They're going to give her an injectable appetite stimulant called midazolam. I'm so scared. I already lost one kitty who wouldn't eat, and we never found out why. I have PTSD and don't talk to my family, so she is my family. I love her so much.

 

[cashforever]

Hi Firejade1 My cat was given an injection of Convenia for a minor dental issue. Exactly 14 days later he started throwing up white foam and wouldn't eat or drink. He developed what I believe was kidney failure and died last Wednesday.

I wonder if it's from the Convenia since I'm reading very similar side effects from other people whose cats have died like this.

I'm glad to hear your cat's doing better and please keep us updated here on her status. Sending lots of lucks and hugs your way

 

[Firejade1]

I'm so sorry your kitty didn't make it. Thanks for sharing your story.

 

[IndyJones]

Convenia can have nasty side effects like any drug but for every 1 reaction there's probably another 1000 who experience nothing. Indy just had convenia for a bladder infection and it definitely is helping her fight it off.

I'm not sure your cat is having side effects of the shot or if the symptoms are related to her bladder. UTI can be very painful, before I treated her, Indy was so not herself. Didn’t want to be touched or held which is so not her. She's normally all over you like a rash but didn't want anything to do with people.

 

[Firejade1]

Kitty came home from vet. She is starting to eat again, but we're going to keep her on the appetite stimulant for a few days and monitor her closely.

 

[Firejade1]

Convenia can have nasty side effects like any drug but for every 1 reaction there's probably another 1000 who experience nothing. Indy just had convenia for a bladder infection and it definitely is helping her fight it off.

I'm not sure your cat is having side effects of the shot or if the symptoms are related to her bladder. UTI can be very painful, before I treated her, Indy was so not herself. Didn’t want to be touched or held which is so not her. She's normally all over you like a rash but didn't want anything to do with people.

Convenia can be unpredictable. I won't give it to her again, and would be hesitant to give it to a cat in the future. We'll just have to have a daily death match or 'feed the cat the pill' when they need antibiotics. My kitty had a skin infection around her vulva and bottom, and that was what was causing similar symptoms to a UTI. The same symptoms last time was a UTI, so I just assumed it was that, but it wasn't.

 

[Firejade1]

My cat has been eating well for the last five or six days, and now I need to wean her off the Mirataz (appetite stimulant). Any advice to increase her chances of keeping her appetite and keep her eating? I reduced the dose tomorrow and plan to try none tomorrow if she's still eating okay.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Good news about her eating better now! What dosing regimen of Mirataz are you using? Once a day at full dose, once a day at half dose, every other day at either dose, and so on?

 

[stephanietx]

Sounds like you have a good plan. Since she is eating, she may continue to eat. Just keep an eye on her and if she stops eating again, give her another pill.

 

[Firejade1]

Good news about her eating better now! What dosing regimen of Mirataz are you using? Once a day at full dose, once a day at half dose, every other day at either dose, and so on?

I'm giving her one full dose per day in the morning on the pinnea of her ear. I should correct and say that I reduced her dose today to about 1/3 of a dose.

 

[Firejade1]

Sounds like you have a good plan. Since she is eating, she may continue to eat. Just keep an eye on her and if she stops eating again, give her another pill.

Thanks. She's taking the transdermal kind, but same idea. I reduced her dose today and hopefully she'll keep eating. Do cats generally do well when you take them off the appetite stimulant if their inappetence is caused by something temporary? I can't find a lot of literature about weaning them off or people's experiences with this. Thanks!

 

[FeebysOwner]

I'm giving her one full dose per day in the morning on the pinnea of her ear. I should correct and say that I reduced her dose today to about 1/3 of a dose...Do cats generally do well when you take them off the appetite stimulant if their inappetence is caused by something temporary?

Since you were doing one full dose a day, and have already reduced it to 1/3, if you see no reduction in her eating, just continue the 1/3 dose tomorrow, and then try going to every other day and see what happens. It really is pretty much an experiment so to speak to see how things go.

If the reason for the lack of appetite has been resolved, then she should be fine with your reductions, and a week or so of weaning it down to none should work.