Convenia Injection and Other Thoughts From the Vet

[Amanda and a Loudogg]

Evening all!
I am so very thankful that today's vet visit was a huge success. I'm also thankful that it remained pee-free. Overall, there were some pros and cons. While she said his teeth looked really good (0 out of 4), she said his lungs sounded harsh. She ran a CBC and Comp Panel and thankfully, his liver and kidney tests looked fantastic (I had been worried with his higher numbers), but she thought the CBC indicated an infection - likely the lungs. She gave me options for medication, and I went with the injection that lasts or works for 14 days. I've given medication to my GA kitty Mateo in the past, and it wasn't fun. According to the receipt, the medication was Convenia.

Do any of you have any experience with this medication? Obviously every cat is different, and it's hard to know how it should work when we don't know the exact source of the infection. I had asked about an x-ray, but she didn't really seem to think it was a true requirement at this point. If this is the reason his numbers have remained high, is there any way to say how long or how quickly one could see improvement? I'm guessing I'll have to play it by ear, but I figured I'd see what y'all went through to give me a better idea.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

We don't like using Convenia for several reasons. 1 is that it's labeled use is for skin infections. The other is that it's a very long acting antibiotic that stays in the body for up to 63 days.

If your cat has a reaction to it, there's nothing you can do but supportive care and hope they live through it. Many have not.

There's a good article on Dr. Lisa's website titled "Convenia, Worth the Risk?"

Vets like to use it on cats because it's so easy and "convenient" ...Most caretakers don't want to try to pill their cats for 7-14 days.

There are times when it's the only thing you can use....like in a feral cat that's not going to let you catch it twice a day for the next week or two

 

[Amanda and a Loudogg]

Oh hell, that's not scary at all!! That just pisses me off then. I go to the vet, and I trust that the medication they're offering me for my cat is the best for what he has. They didn't even tell me what they were giving, so they treated me like an idiot and let me assume they were giving me the best medication for him. I guess it's f*cking always true that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Now I just feel absolutely horrible...

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Now I just feel absolutely horrible...

Don't!!.....like you said, we trust our vets to do what's right, so you did nothing to feel guilty about.

Most of the time, you're not going to have any problem with Convenia.....it's just the cats that DO have a problem with it have had some pretty sorry outcomes.

I didn't know about it either until I came here....Now all my cats have "No Convenia, No Metacam" written in big bold letters on their files

Just watch him for the next couple days for anything unusual and if in doubt, consider the Convenia

 

[FurBabiesMama]

Mia was given a shot of Convenia for a UTI when she was first diagnosed with diabetes. She had no problems from it at all, and it did clear up the UTI by our follow up visit two weeks later.

 

[Sharon14]

My civie, Bella, was recently given a convenia shot. No one can give her meds by mouth and she will not eat food with meds or treats with pills so I had no choice. I talked to the vet about it and he said he’s never had a cat have a reaction to it. My cat slept a lot the next week, don’t know if that was from the shot or not, but she’s fine now. I’m sure your kitty will be fine too.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I recently used the Convenia for my BunBun after dental and mast-cell tumor removal. He is very hard to administer oral meds and and trying to do that right after many teeth were extracted did not seem like a good idea at all. Otherwise I would have gone with pills.

 

[Tracey&Jones (GA)]

I too have done the shot not knowing. There was no ill affects and it was for my CKD civvie. Now, I just ask for the pills and watch to see if they are trying to give the Convenia. I ask now, and what is this AB meant for specifically?

 

[Sylvie]

we usually only use tablets in capsules so don't usually use antibiotic injections but, when we found a 2-3yr old sick feral cat on our porch last december, it was the only option we had for he would not allow us to give him antibiotics orally at that time. he had a horrible URI infection and an badly infected cat bite as well, the injection cleared both up really quickly and he had no side effects from it at all and is now one of the most loving cat we have ever rescued. We did add fortiflora to his food for about 2 weeks afterwards, think that may of helped too.

 

[tiffmaxee]

Max was given convenient twice over the years without any issues. It IS scary because if your cat is one that has a reaction you could run into serious consequences. My IM insisted each time that he’s never had a cat have issues with it and he sees too many clients. You need to book at least a week or two in advance unless you have him on speed dial lime I did.