May be against rules here but frantic..

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Gretchen(sugarbaby)&bobbi

Gretchen(sugarbaby)&bobbi

Member Since 2018
kind of desperate for answers on a non diabetic kitty. Monday night I noticed my Himalayan/Ragdoll breathing was labored. I took her in Tuesday am as an emergent visit. He never did labs but she was running a fever. He did X-rays and her heart was enlarged. He put her on amoxicillin. Her breathing has gone back to normal- but she is SO lethargic she won’t move. I’ve gotten just a few licks of super watered down food in her. I think the amoxicillin is making her very sick. I phoned him and he said I could stop it for the weekend but a temperature of unknown origin was (I can’t remember exactly what he said). I chose to keep giving amoxicillin because if I take her off this could get worse. I just lost another cat about 5 (?) months ago and am very upset with all this. I go back to work tomorrow so I won’t be able to offer her licks of watered food throughout the day. Does anyone here know dosage of liquid amoxicillin? The amoxicillin is 400mg/5ml 100/ml (which doesn’t make sense) and he has her on 1.5 ml twice a day. Can I cut it back some? Am I overdosing her??? So upset! It seems like I’m killing her :(
I don’t know if this is OK to ask about a non sugar cat, but I’m feeling frantic. The sugar cat is doing great and has been tearing around like a kitten every night and every morning....
 
So sorry you are going through this. If my math is correct: 1.5ml = 120mg dose 2x/day. I don't know what the 100/ml is unless you were given a 100ml bottle.

Do a search for "feline dose amoxicillin". My cut/paste not working yet again. I found that a usual dose for cat is 5-10mg per pound of cat weight every 12 hours. So if your cat weighs around 12# you are on the correct dose.

No liquids plus fever she can become severely dehydrated rapidly. Such lethargy is not normal. If it were me, I would go to ER now. If you are not able for whatever reason, I would strongly suggest you drop kitty off at your vet first thing in the morning for evaluation and treatment. Keep pushing fluids through the night at the minimum.
Best wishes to you and kitty.
 
P.S. I would ask for labs to be drawn, could uncover a wealth of issues, including elevated white cell count indicating presence and degree of infection, dehydration etc. Odd they were not done last week.
 
It is fine to ask any kitty medical questions here, not just diabetes-related. Did the vet tell you what he was treating with the amoxicillin? Why did he not do any bloodwork?

I do not have any personal knowledge about amoxicillin, but I just found this: https://www.petcarerx.com/medication-guides/about-liquid-amoxicillin-dosage-for-dogs-and-cats/1025 It says that, "Amoxicillin Oral Suspension should be used only for proven bacterial infections." And, "Extreme caution is required while using this medication in dehydrated animals or those with kidney or heart disorders."

I would get her to another vet to get her checked out properly. I hope it all turns out okay!
 
I’m so upset. This vet didn’t know diddily about diabetes either. If I hadn’t found this site Gretchen would probably be gone. He was more than willing to prescribe Prozinc so I’ll keep Gretchen with him as long as she’s healthy but otherwise I’ll make the drive to another town.
He gave her some kind of antibiotic shot too. (Lucky, not Gretchen) Lucky isn’t a super cuddly gal and especially not now. All I want to do is snuggle her but she wouldn’t like it :(
 
Gretchen(sugarbaby)&bobbi said:
He gave her some kind of antibiotic shot too.
Click to expand...
Was the shot called Covenia? If a cat reacts to Covenia, the most common side effects are anemia, tremors/ataxia, seizures, diarrhea, lethargy, anorexia, and death.

Lisa Pierson DVM has a good piece about Covenia here: Covenia: Worth the Risk? You might want to read it.

Just a suggestion... call the emergency vet you took her to earlier in the week. Describe what's happening. See what they say. That lethargy is not normal and is very concerning. I'd try to get her in to be checked sooner than later. Given the circumstances, I'd be afraid to wait til tomorrow, but that's just me.

Thinking positive thoughts...
 
Lots going on here. But first things first:

- How is her breathing right now?
- What is her mental state (is she aware and tracking you, or is she an oblivious lump)?
- what color are her gums?
- are her gums tacky vs slimy?
- has she been coughing?

I'm with Jill -- unless Lucky is acting better, I wouldn't wait. I'd head for an ER vet, specifically one that offers 24-hour care.

At minimum, I'd want to get bloodwork done, re-check her temp, have the vet listen to her heart, and check her hydration status. She may need IV antibiotics, IV fluids (which needs to be carefully managed if she has a potential cardiac issue), electrolytes if there's an imbalance, and so forth. And you want to make sure she's not in congestive heart failure.

And please do find out whether she was given Convenia.
 
My cat was given a shot of Convenia this summer and became extremely lethargic and wouldn't eat. His eyes were glassy and glazed... he just sat in a corner for days. I've never seen him look that bad and I thought I was going to lose him. I ended up syringe feeding him for about a week and he started eating again on his own. I am never letting any vet administer that shot again. I'd rather struggle with pilling him. If that's what your vet gave her, you may need to assist feed her for a bit just to get food and water into her. I hope things start turning around for you and Lucky!
 
I agree with Jill, I would take her to the vet as soon as possible. Please do find out if she was given a Convenia shot, and make sure to let the vet know, if so! Sending prayers for Lucky and you.
 
It was Not Convenia- I called and asked. It was a mix of amoxicillin and some other “cillin” ...what is Convenia? I hated to take her back to that same vet but because of work and back and forth I am at 2:30. She ate almost an ounce of watered down Sheba but she’s still super lethargic.

My boss is super upset with me, which upsets me all the more. I bawled my eyes out getting ready for work. He was a real a$$ about it. I’ll let you k ow how she is....
 
I agree you need more help from the vet. I am so sorry your boss can’t afford you a little more patience. Not eating for 24 hours or more can cause problems of its own as can dehydration. I would at a minimum get some recovery food or liquid critical care food to syringe feed your cat if she doesn’t eat on her own. If you wind up having to syringe feed for any length of time, you will appreciate getting some syringes with silicone tips. The hard plastic on many feeding syringes is hard to use without inadvertently jabbing them in the mouth, making each subsequent feeding even harder. Innovet has the best I’ve found and they are available in a hurry with Amazon Prime.
 
“You have the healthiest sick cat in Coquille” all labs normal. Liver enzymes and playlets slightly elevated but not near critical. No cancer, etc....” voice mail from Vet

So is Lucky faking it? Just kidding she does have a fever of 103. He put her on “Baytril” ??
And she got another shot. I’m at work but I’ll have to look at invoice. He thinks it’s just an infection somewhere.
 
I forgot to say she was not dehydrated. Strange. She must have been sneaking in to the water while I was asleep because I sure haven’t seen her move in 4-5 days. She did eat almost an ounce of watered down food before I took her in.

Off to do some work as I’m supposed to be :)

Thank you all for the replies and I know I’ve been real sparse then pop on when I have an urgent matter- and I’ve been really really horrible at keeping my ss...it looks like I miss days but honest, I don’t! Gretchen has been nice and low at 2 ...2.25 was getting her low enough that I was worried to leave her. More telling than her numbers is this regression back to kittenhood! Boy! Every night and every morning she tears around playing like a baby! She’s gained weight and is just doing really well.
 
B25DB20E-56D8-40EF-A52E-D69F288F63F6.jpeg


This above is the latest of Gretchen. Playing with a tie off my old scrubs
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This is poor shaved Lucky. Her beautiful hair is gone. It was knotted. I will try to keep up with it but she HATES being brushed so this may be her new look.
DE4F6658-1F51-45D0-AFB8-9F8093EF8A2F.jpeg

This is all 3 babies. Daisy is my character- he’s the orange in the middle. Yes- a boy named Daisy.
 
Baytril is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, so I'm not surprised your vet went to that. If Lucky is still running a 103 degree fever, the vet is probably going on the assumption that the amoxicillin he originally prescribed wasn't effective.

Hydration can be difficult to gauge in cats, but it's good he doesn't think she's dehydrated. You can do the "skin tent" test -- pinch and pull up gently on the scruff of the neck. It should snap back into place quickly. If it stays where you pinched it or snaps back very slowly, that can be a sign of dehydration. It can be tricky in elderly cats so I usually run my fingers along their gums as well. Slick and slimy is good; dry or tacky usually means some degree of dehydration.

I'm also not surprised at mildly elevated liver values. Cats can go into hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver) VERY quickly if they're not eating. Overweight cats are especially at risk. If it were me, I'd try to blend some canned food with a little water and syringe a little into her as frequently as possible. Anything is better than nothing, just don't overdo it at first because you want her to keep it down. It's important she get some food. Larger syringes usually work better because they have a wider tip for the food to fit through, but even a 3cc will work if you blend the food well enough. I've even saved a few of my empty horse paste dewormer and bute syringes to use in a pinch (carefully washed, of course!). Some of them actually have a wider nozzle and work quite well.

And please check your receipt and post the name of the drug he injected today. I'm really curious as to what that was (there's a reason I'm asking but will leave it at that for now).

Take a deep breath and hang in there.
 
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