Dental question - Metacam, Convenia

[ZulusMom (GA)]

We took our civvie Pepper to the vet last night and it turns out he needs dental work done too. The vet tech brought out a cost breakdown (ouch!) which also listed all of the drugs they typically use during the procedure. Two stood out to me:
1. Convenia. I told them right off the bat I didn't want this anywhere near my cats since it stays in their systems for too long in the event of an adverse reaction. I'm sure for 9 out of 10 cats it's fine, but I'm not about to take the risk that either of my cats is the unlucky 10th.
2. Metacam. I've heard about issues with Metacam but I didn't know if it was only for kitties with compromised kidneys. Zulu's kidney numbers were normal, Pepper hasn't had the panel done yet. Should I push for something else? The breakdown also listed bupe to send home with us, how many different painkillers do they need?
I have a message in with Zulu's doctor to call me sometime today to discuss, since he'll be going for his dental first.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

Hi. I can just share with you that when I took my civvie, Willow, for dental extractions, she was given Onsior (robenacoxib) (6mg tablet) primarily as an anti-inflammatory and Buprenex/Buprenorphine (0.5 mg/ml liquid) for pain. She was already in the middle of a cycle of Clavamox antibiotic tablets which were continued. (He also prescribed a supplement going forward called TDC which is supposedly great for periodontal and joint health.)

It's always scary when you have to put your baby through a procedure. I am going to have to go through it again next week with Mia. I hope everything goes well for Pepper.

 

[Olive & Paula]

I don't allow either of those drugs to be given to my cats. My vet will give me orbax for the antibiotic or clavamox but so far every one of my cats have gotten sick from clavamox so now it's another I don't give them.

 

[ZulusMom (GA)]

I spoke to the doctor and told her I wasn't too keen on either med. She said they're listed on the cost estimate as possible meds they could use, if the situation warranted it, but that other meds could be used instead. I said no to Convenia, and agreed to Onsior if it's needed. Zulu is scheduled for Tuesday, November 28th, as long as his BGs don't suddenly start jumping, and Pepper will be up next in December. We're expecting that Zulu will be the more complicated case since he has FORLs instead of the more typical gum disease that Pepper has.

But yeah, I'm a ball of nerves after that phone call. My poor fur babies!

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I myself would only use Metacam in an end of life situation. However, note that Metacam has both anti inflammatory and pain relief properties while buprenex only has pain relief properties.
Regarding Convenia, I would only if the animal could bot be safely medicated with an oral antibiotic. This summer my BunBun has a growth removed and a dental with extensive extractions. He is very hard to pill and with the sutures for the growth removal and extracted teeth administering oral antibiotics would have been too risky. For pain relief he was given a long lasting buprenex injection
http://www.srvet.net/index.php/other/buprenorphine-sr

 

[Bobbie And Bubba]

Good call to not use either of those drugs ! First of all Metacam has been black labeled for cats. It okay for dogs but not cats. Secondly,I don't understand why vets want to use Convenia for dental anyway. It is an AB that is used for skin infections and is not an appropriate AB for dental use and as you mentioned it is not worth the risk even if it was use appropriately in case of an adverse reaction.

 

[ZulusMom (GA)]

The revised cost outbreak she sent me has the Convenia and Metacam taken off, swapped with Onsior and Buprenex.
It's (kind of) funny - the reason we were at the vet's was because Pepper was overgrooming a spot on his leg and it appeared infected. When the vet was listing off treatment options she said there was an injection they could do that would last about 2 weeks. I opted for topical anti-bacterial swabs instead, but it occurred to me later that the injection she mentioned probably was Convenia.

 

[Bobbie And Bubba]

The revised cost outbreak she sent me has the Convenia and Metacam taken off, swapped with Onsior and Buprenex.
It's (kind of) funny - the reason we were at the vet's was because Pepper was overgrooming a spot on his leg and it appeared infected. When the vet was listing off treatment options she said there was an injection they could do that would last about 2 weeks. I opted for topical anti-bacterial swabs instead, but it occurred to me later that the injection she mentioned probably was Convenia.

And for a skin infection the indication for Convenia was appropriate BUT, because of the possibility of an adverse reaction and not be able to stop the action and only be able to provide supportive care ( very costly), I would just never ever give Convenia again ( Bubba had it once before I knew better and luckily did fine with it but, that is not to say that he could develop an allergic reaction to a subsequent injection).

 

[ZulusMom (GA)]

Zulu's cleaning was a success. They only extracted one small fragment that was causing irritation, no full tooth extractions. I guess they thought they would have to do a lot more removal of roots from missing teeth, but most of the roots have bonded with the jaw bone and smoothed over. I actually feel bad, since it turns out Pepper (our civvie) is the worse case (at least 4 teeth need to come out), and he won't have his done til next week.

Zulu's numbers did spike into the 200-300s, but the vet is pretty confident they'll come back down in the next few days without re-starting insulin (DH will test when he gets home later this morning). I was on bupe duty this morning before work, which is trickier than I thought. Zulu does not like the kitty burrito, nor does he understand that I need to shoot the bupe into his cheek pocket for it to work. I'm only 20% sure I got it in the pocket and not directly down his throat.

I had to laugh when I saw on the discharge instructions that Zulu's appetite might be diminished. I don't call him Dinner Plate Eyes for nothing. He was already ticked at me for not giving him breakfast before taking him to the vet's, then went all day without food (I gave them a can for after, but they thought it best if we waited til home). He ran straight to the dish when we got in and plowed through the food I put down and asked for more. The day he has a diminished appetite is the day I really start to worry.

ETA: Zulu's BG was back down to normal - still in remission!

 

[JanetNJ]

Zulu's cleaning was a success. They only extracted one small fragment that was causing irritation, no full tooth extractions. I guess they thought they would have to do a lot more removal of roots from missing teeth, but most of the roots have bonded with the jaw bone and smoothed over. I actually feel bad, since it turns out Pepper (our civvie) is the worse case (at least 4 teeth need to come out), and he won't have his done til next week.

Zulu's numbers did spike into the 200-300s, but the vet is pretty confident they'll come back down in the next few days without re-starting insulin (DH will test when he gets home later this morning). I was on bupe duty this morning before work, which is trickier than I thought. Zulu does not like the kitty burrito, nor does he understand that I need to shoot the bupe into his cheek pocket for it to work. I'm only 20% sure I got it in the pocket and not directly down his throat.

I had to laugh when I saw on the discharge instructions that Zulu's appetite might be diminished. I don't call him Dinner Plate Eyes for nothing. He was already ticked at me for not giving him breakfast before taking him to the vet's, then went all day without food (I gave them a can for after, but they thought it best if we waited til home). He ran straight to the dish when we got in and plowed through the food I put down and asked for more. The day he has a diminished appetite is the day I really start to worry.

ETA: Zulu's BG was back down to normal - still in remission!

Glad it went well