1/26 Talbot~Orbifloxacin/Orbax question

[melinda and talbot]

I brought Talbot in to the vet on Monday because he seemed a bit down and his breath was so bad I figured he needed a teeth check.

On the good side, all his blood work came back fairly normal.
Unfortunately they think he is blind in one eye, which was totally unexpected. They did check his blood pressure but could only get one reading. It was good though. The retina looked different in the blind eye than it did in the (hopefully) normal eye. She wasn't able to pinpoint anything specific though. His pupils are dilated, probably due to aging and needing more light in.

He also has a UTI, which could explain the listlessness and water drinking. BUT, here is the question ... she gave me Orbifloxacin. In the literature it said it could cause blindness in cats. Since he only sees out of one eye, this could be a concern. I called her and she said that this should be a safe drug for him and she has never had any cases of blindness. He's at a low/med dose. I've used her for years and she is a very good vet but I am slightly concerned. It's one tablet one x a day for 10 days. She did say that although it's given one time a day I could split it and give it 2x to have a lower amount of spike of the drug. She thought it would be just fine to give the once a day dose though. ANY INFO/EXPERIENCE WITH THIS DRUG?

Posted in Health Also

 

[mybuddybinks]

no input, but giving you a bump...

sorry to hear about the eye, melinda...

 

[Anne&Muffin (GA)]

One of my civvies, Kibby is on Orbax right now, although the liquid form - this will be his 3rd day. This is my first time using it as well, and I didn't know about the blindness thing. He too, was given it for a UTI, but it turns out he has bite wounds, not a UTI, and is continuing on it. So basically, I'm no help at all, but did want you to know you're not the only one using it.

 

[Libby and Lucy]

Lucy was on Orbax before I adopted her, for a really bad UTI. Most drugs have possible side effects but they don't happen to everyone. Lucy didn't have any problem. I think I've seen discussions on FDMB not long ago about Orbax so a search of this site might help.

It's a big gun antibiotic and for some types of bacteria that is the drug that is needed, I think.

I hope Talbot will feel better soon.

 

[carolynandlatte]

I have not read your post/responses on health (but see its there). A quick google search to confirm what I *think* I remember doesnt bring up much. Might have to dig further. What I remember, as this a/b was often needed for Lattes UTI's, was that the concern for blindness was with high doses, long term. I avoided it for a while until I realized the risks were not nearly as great as I had initially thought for her purpose. That said, adverse reactions DO happen. Its always weighing the pro's/cons. Im glad you did your research!