? Convenia: Use or Avoid?

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Jodey&Eddie&Blue

Jodey&Eddie&Blue

Member Since 2021
Does anyone have any advise/experiences with the injectable antibiotic, Convenia, that you would either recommend for or against its use?

Thank you.
 
You'll probably get more replies if you had posted this is the Feline Health forum. Sorry, I have no experience with Convenia.
Hope Kelowna is as beautiful as I remember. We really should have snapped up that bungalow in Penticton for $125k when we had the chance.
 
Noah & me (GA) said:
You'll probably get more replies if you had posted this is the Feline Health forum. Sorry, I have no experience with Convenia.
Hope Kelowna is as beautiful as I remember. We really should have snapped up that bungalow in Penticton for $125k when we had the chance.
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Thanks, I will post there! And, for sure, you wouldn't be sorry for snapping that up!! Kelowna has experience accelerated growth with the arrival of the university, which brought with it the medical school, the school of engineering and management. You wouldn't recognize downtown. It 's beginning to resemble the West End of Vancouver.
 
I am not a fan of Convenia injections for the usual reasons. I'm sure you've read Dr. Lisa's information on Convenia. If not, here is the link https://catinfo.org/?s=Convenia
I am concerned about the fact that, once the drug is in my cat's body, I cannot get it out if there's an adverse reaction. I'm afraid of the (rare? no data on this) side effect of hemolytic anemia. I've spoken with vets about this and they all "poo poo" the idea that there's any danger to Convenia, but I'm not buying it. I just feel like I would never allow my cat to have a Convenia injection unless it was a dire situation and there was absolutely no choice in the matter (i.e., no way of getting oral antibiotics into my cat.) Having said all that, I have had a couple (2) of feral cats who needed antibiotics and they had Convenia without adverse reaction. I've also had situations where a vet gave, without my consent, a Convenia injection to a personal cat. I was angry, but nothing bad happened to the cat that I was able to detect. Also, it's a cephalosporin and you would need to make sure that this antibiotic is even the appropriate drug for the situation. What are you thinking of having it for?
 
Hello Everyone,

Does anyone have any advise/experiences with the injectable antibiotic, Convenia, that you would either recommend for or against its use?
Thank you.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I am not a fan of Convenia injections for the usual reasons. I'm sure you've read Dr. Lisa's information on Convenia. If not, here is the link https://catinfo.org/?s=Convenia
I am concerned about the fact that, once the drug is in my cat's body, I cannot get it out if there's an adverse reaction. I'm afraid of the (rare? no data on this) side effect of hemolytic anemia. I've spoken with vets about this and they all "poo poo" the idea that there's any danger to Convenia, but I'm not buying it. I just feel like I would never allow my cat to have a Convenia injection unless it was a dire situation and there was absolutely no choice in the matter (i.e., no way of getting oral antibiotics into my cat.) Having said all that, I have had a couple (2) of feral cats who needed antibiotics and they had Convenia without adverse reaction. I've also had situations where a vet gave, without my consent, a Convenia injection to a personal cat. I was angry, but nothing bad happened to the cat that I was able to detect.
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Thank you! This question does involve a young cat who is so averse to oral medications that he hides under the bed for hours and hours after administration. With the oral medication he needs, it would be over 14 days (!!) and I cannot imagine what that would do to our relationship. I had to give him 0.6ml Gabapentin and you would think I had done something unforgivable. I had to wrestle him to give that amount and can't imagine what giving 3.5ml of the oral antibiotic would do. I've tried hiding the Gabapentin in a drop of Churu lickables on his food and it sort of works but I don't think I could risk it with an antibiotic. He is so resistant to taking anything that's not in his food dish that holding out a drop of the lickable on the container makes him run away...
 
Jodey&Eddie&Blue said:
Thank you! This question does involve a young cat who is so averse to oral medications that he hides under the bed for hours and hours after administration. With the oral medication he needs, it would be over 14 days (!!) and I cannot imagine what that would do to our relationship. I had to give him 0.6ml Gabapentin and you would think I had done something unforgivable. I had to wrestle him to give that amount and can't imagine what giving 3.5ml of the oral antibiotic would do. I've tried hiding the Gabapentin in a drop of Churu lickables on his food and it sort of works but I don't think I could risk it with an antibiotic. He is so resistant to taking anything that's not in his food dish that holding out a drop of the lickable on the container makes him run away...
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What is wrong with kitty? This is a tough situation. You are trying to build trust. Giving the meds sounds very traumatizing for him. It could be possible to mix some kind of flavored medication into food (like ham baby food). I would ask the vet. Others may have suggestions, too. I think I would carefully weigh the options and would possible consider it in this case. I'm not onsite to see the cat, but, as I said, I have had to use in in an absolutely wild feral cat or two who needed the antibiotics.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
What is wrong with kitty? This is a tough situation. You are trying to build trust. Giving the meds sounds very traumatizing for him. It could be possible to mix some kind of flavored medication into food (like ham baby food). I would ask the vet. Others may have suggestions, too. I think I would carefully weigh the options and would possible consider it in this case. I'm not onsite to see the cat, but, as I said, I have had to use in in an absolutely wild feral cat or two who needed the antibiotics.
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Ollie is only 3.5 years old but has some form of periodontal disease and the vet thinks he should be tested for FIV/FeLV because of gingivitis or even stomatitis. She is concerned because of this inflammation in such a young kitty. He has no other symptoms of FIV or FelV but the periodontal\ is clear to see. She wants him to have a dental procedurel but it may require me to go to a specialist if it involves the teeth in the jaw. In any case, the vet want to see if antibiotics will help with the inflammation if it is caused by bacteria.

P.s. about the baby food. In Canada we can no longer obtain baby food with meat products in it. I've tried ordering from Amazon once and the order got turned back at Customs.
 
Poor Ollie. Have you had him a long time? Has he always been like that (skittish? hard to medicate?) It is possible for a young cat to have dental problems, I have seen it occasionally. Some cats, like people, just didn't get good teeth. It would not hurt to find out his FIV/FeLV status. My Marcus, who is FIV+ recently had his teeth cleaned. The vet said they were the worst she'd ever seen. As it turns out, he just needed them cleaned and he lost no teeth at all. I hope you can help him. I understand about the dental specialist -- good idea.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Poor Ollie. Have you had him a long time? Has he always been like that (skittish? hard to medicate?) It is possible for a young cat to have dental problems, I have seen it occasionally. Some cats, like people, just didn't get good teeth. It would not hurt to find out his FIV/FeLV status. My Marcus, who is FIV+ recently had his teeth cleaned. The vet said they were the worst she'd ever seen. As it turns out, he just needed them cleaned and he lost no teeth at all. I hope you can help him. I understand about the dental specialist -- good idea.
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Oh, I would be so happy if all he needed was a cleaning!! I've had Ollie since he was about 8 weeks old. He has never needed medication and never had symptoms of anything. I brought him to the vet recently only because I thought it's about time to get pet insurance and I needed to provide a vet record to the company. Ollie is a Flame Point Siamese and the sweetest cat ever. But he is terrified at having anything put into his mouth and so suspicious of what goes into his bowl that he totally examines it before eating. Really, what could have happened to make his so anxious, I can't even imagine. He's had a really good life here and is active, communicative and playful; just don't try to give him anything or he will disappear. I also hope a cleaning would do the trick because the specialist is about 4.5 hours away by car and Ollie's not happy in the carrier, although I suppose I could get him used to it by the time we would travel.
 
OLLIE 2023.jpeg
Here is Ollie...
 

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We use Convenia. Because of Roxi's various medical issues, she's become less and less able to tolerate oral antibiotics to the point where she ends up refusing to eat and hospitalized. So when she needs antibiotics, she gets Convenia. She does great on it. On a professional level, we give Convenia multiple times pretty much every day, and I've been doing that for the last 6 years. Not seen a single major adverse reaction yet, so would have to agree with the majority of vets that it's so rare that the risk is pretty much negligible.
 
manxcat419 said:
We use Convenia. Because of Roxi's various medical issues, she's become less and less able to tolerate oral antibiotics to the point where she ends up refusing to eat and hospitalized. So when she needs antibiotics, she gets Convenia. She does great on it. On a professional level, we give Convenia multiple times pretty much every day, and I've been doing that for the last 6 years. Not seen a single major adverse reaction yet, so would have to agree with the majority of vets that it's so rare that the risk is pretty much negligible.
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I can see Ollie in category, that is, bring so anxious he may refuse to eat as he hides out. Thank you!
 
For Roxi it's actually a physical reaction - oral antibiotics flare up her IBD and her pancreatitis. And then she stops eating. But stress can be just as damaging. If you feel he won't handle 2 weeks of oral meds, Convenia is your best option.
 
Well, a lot of good people can disagree here but I have it in my cats file at the vet NO CONVENIA. once in, you can't get it out and reactions vary. It had a weirdly sedating effect on my cat...he was really out and I was very glad when it wore off, but it stays in their systems for a long time. I now use other abx that are daily, but if they don't work, or cat has an issue, I can change/adjust. If you Google it, you'll find range of opinions about it.
 
Lilitiger2 said:
Well, a lot of good people can disagree here but I have it in my cats file at the vet NO CONVENIA. once in, you can't get it out and reactions vary. It had a weirdly sedating effect on my cat...he was really out and I was very glad when it wore off, but it stays in their systems for a long time. I now use other abx that are daily, but if they don't work, or cat has an issue, I can change/adjust. If you Google it, you'll find range of opinions about it.
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Hi, yes, i did Google it, which is why I'm posting here in our FDMB community since I thought people would have specific experiences they could share. It's so hard to know what to do since ECID and, as for me, I'm just a short while away from having lost Blue, my silver tabby in the photo (not to Convenia but other causes and I'm quite anxious).
 
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