Has anyone used Veraflox antibiotic?

[Babypaws]

I'm praying for you, Babypaws. I don't know what to say other than to give your vet an update because he's not eating and drinking well, to learn to gauge kitty's hydration by lifting the nape of his neck and seeing if it "tents". He might need hydration with subQ fluids (which you can learn to do and do at home) Vet might recommend wet food too so you can stay ahead of dehydration and constipation. Sometimes, the hydration itself will perk up the cat. The Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Hi Energy (prescription) really helped my cat with calories and prevented constipation because it is highly digestible. RAWZ is a nonprescription food with a lot of calories. Very helpful to keep a log.

My sister's kittens had Veraflox prescribed to them and do not have any known effects, but if you dig on the internet, you will find posts from other cat owners who experienced the same loss, and vets who don't recommend it especially for older cats or cats with liver or kidney problems, but it doesn't appear to be common knowledge---I don't think our old vets realized it would be a problem, and they were sorry about my cat going blind. You almost have to know it's a problem to find info or the vet has to have had the experience of it happening. The animal ophthalmologist said it's known to be a problem given IV, but lesser known for oral doses. Veraflox is not meant to be a first line drug for UTIs. For drug resistant bacteria, I'm sure it's a God send, but my cat only had a garden variety UTI. If you call the number on the box to report an adverse reaction, it is to the manufacturer, not an outside agency. If you ask websites to post the side of the box that says precaution: associated with retinopathy and blindness in cats, they will not do it because it would discourage sales. As a health professional, I wonder if the drug rep was pushing Veraflox because it only needs to be given once a day as opposed to twice a day. Drugs can be a lifeline for the right situation, but the opposite for those who are sensitive, and it's unknown how anyone will respond. So if researching a drug for pets, best to research here or other nonretail websites.

I ended up having to take my little guy to an Emergency vet yesterday afternoon.
when I picked him up he looked like he was in a daze and his tongue was sticking out of his mouth a little. He looked like he was dying. I brought his record to them and explained what was going on. They kept him over night and will do blood work, urinalysis and urine culture and give him fluids. They mentioned also it looks like he has some sort of ear infection. They’ll be calling me today or I can call to find out how he’s doing. I’m praying they’ll be able to help him get better. They also mentioned they could do an MRI of his head but he’d have to be better because they didn’t want to him anthesia in his condition.
I know there are sales people who push their products to vets and even some doctors, not really caring how good or bad the products are....everything is for money these days.
This whole deal is making me sick...I want to help him but feel like my hands are tied.I’m praying this place will have the knowledge to let him come home safe to me. They also mentioned there is something (med) that can help dissolve the stones. The reg vet gave me the impression the only option to dissolve would be the special diet food and could take weeks before (if any) improvement.

thank you for your response...

 

[Annette A]

Thinking of you and your dear cat, Babypaws, and glad the ER vets sounds like they have a more targeted solution. Hoping for the best.
Hugs

 

[Babypaws]

My. At was transferred to a another critical care hospital yesterday. They wanted to keep him there for a few days. They think he has some type of liver strunts. Not sure f that’s spelled right. I got a call 1/2 hour ago, he had a seizure and wasn’t responding to a med. they sedated him for now. They had taken blood work before hand and now see his blood sugar is low, it wasn’t low in previous blood. I’m waiting to hear back from them...and I just want to take his pain and let him get better and come home to me. I can’t deal with if he doesn’t survive

 

[Annette A]

Hugs, Babypaws, hang in there.

 

[Babypaws]

My little boy was too far gone and suffering. I went to the hospital to say my goodbye and I decided to give them permission to put him out of his suffering. We brought him home. My heart is broken, he was so energetic and loving. I miss he so much. He only had a very short life (11 months old). I had him since he was 5-6 weeks old. He was so sweet.
But from what 2 separate veterans said his issues probably were because he was the runt of the litter and his brain/body weren’t fully grown. He might have had a issue in his brain.
im feeling his lost so bad....

 

[Annette A]

So sorry about your loss and thinking of you; your kitten sounded like such a sweet heart and I'm glad he had loving people in his life.

 

[Babypaws]

Thank you...he’s now buried with my other loving pets I’ve lost. Doesn’t get any easier when you lose one. Life can be so hard. I know there’s some people who wouldn’t understand the grief of a pet. But they become part of our family

 

[Annette A]

They certainly do. We think of our kitty every day, and my other kitty misses him terribly because he was her big bro. He was a real huggy boy, always there to greet us, wanted to be held or jump up on our lap to give kisses.

I think the culture is changing because I see more than one kind of pet sympathy card at the shops.

 

[Babypaws]

After reading your experience with Veraflox I’ve wondered if the meds the local vet who by the way strictly treats cats, caused my little one to get sicker...she was treating him for almost two weeks and I trusted her....
I'm so sorry for your loss as well. I have an older cat who I’ve had since she was a kitten, she’s about 16 years old. The same vet said she had the beginning of kidney problems and wanted me to put her on a special diet several years ago but there was no way I could get her to eat any of it. So I put her back to Fancy Feast and Friskies wet food. At least she eats it, she’s lost weight because she drinks a lot and her body isn’t absorbing the nutrients....I tried giving her vitamins but it must taste horrible...I gave up because she stopped eating and would hide.
I know her time is near.....
I feel like it wasn’t fair that my little boy didn’t have a chance to live a long life, he had so much happiness/love to give. But I know there are so many poor animals that are abused etc. I have to take it day by day.

 

[Annette A]

Thank you Babypaws. My beautiful cat boy had a lot of life left in him, was so strong and energetic. We miss him every day. It does feel like we missed out on more time with our kitties, and yours was still a kitten. My cat girl is 15 and like your 16 year old, early kidney problems. She's gone through so many different foods, but she always loves Fancy Feast, but can't handle the guar gum in it so I have to dilute it with other food, then I finally got her onto RAWZ which doesn't have any gums, but the phosphate is too high, waaaah. The Tanyas Guide to Chronic Feline Kidney Disease has been very helpful---it has a wet cat food section and lists all the phosphorus levels, but I'm still searching for a lower phosphate pate food she will eat and not bother her stomach. I made homemade once, and she only liked it the first day! I'm not sure I want to do raw food.

 

[Babypaws]

Sometimes I boil chicken breast or give her a jar of Gerbers chicken baby food.
My Tiger use to like both too. I tried anything to get food into him. Unfortunately none of my cats really like pate.